Erik van Lieshout

MASS MoCA is organizing a major presentation of the work of Erik van Lieshout, one of the Netherlands’ most prominent artists. His provocative works which treat sex, violence, politics, and commercial culture with equal humor, candor, and irreverence will be represented with a selection of video and recent works on paper. The artist became well-known in the 1990s for his expressionistic canvases and large-scale drawings which merge graphic images of drugs, pornography, and street culture with a range of media figures including Burka-clad women, Batman, and Snoop Dogg. In 1997 van Lieshout began making the simply-crafted sculptures and video installations that now round out his multi-media practice. His work tackles social and political issues as well as the interpersonal relationships experienced in every-day life.

The videos on view at MASS MoCA – Lariam (2001), UP! (2005) and Part 1 and Part 2 his newest project filmed in the United States – address, respectively, the cultural exchanges between the Netherlands and Ghana and van Liehout’s own personal struggles with work and family, and his recent experiences in the United States. Each video is presented within a particular viewing environment designed by the artist. These intimate installations that incorporate the viewer more actively into the work, altering the standard modes of reception, while poking fun at the standard museum viewing environment, as well as the legacy of the highly polished image of Dutch design and architecture. The artist will install Lariam in a shipping container in the front courtyard of the MASS MoCA complex.