David Altmejd

David Altmejd creates sculptures that often blur the distinction between interior and exterior, surface and structure, representation and abstraction. The human body in relation to processes of decay, renewal and transformation is a principal theme, with some sculptures appearing to either create or destroy themselves. His sculptures, which range from monumental to head scaled works, often incorporate a myriad of unexpected materials, the combinations of which can be captivating, disturbing or extremely poetic. Motivated by the invisible worlds that often exist beneath the surface of things, the artist reveals the hidden structures in his own works through negative spaces: gaps, holes, fissures and crystal-filled orifices are a recurring motif. Altmejd is also known for his earlier series of vast Perspex vitrines filled with labyrinthine arrangements of symbolic objects and materials. In these mesmeric works, precision and order conjure an aura of mystery and magic.

David Altmejd (b. 1974, Montreal, Canada) lives and works in Los Angeles. His work was the subject of a major survey exhibition entitled Flux at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France which travelled to the MUDAM in Luxembourg and the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal, Canada (2014-15). In 2007, he represented Canada at the 57^th Venice Biennale. Public collections include Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Long Museum, Shanghai; and MUDAM, Luxembourg, among others.