Biography Elmgreen and Dragset

Contributions by Andrew Berardini, Iwona Blazwick, Susanne Christensen, Ruth Direktor, Bruce Willis Ferguson, Massimiliano Gioni, Martin Herbert, Shannon Jackson, Gunnar B. Kvaran, Quinn Latimer, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Marianne Torp.

In conjunction with the first major exhibition in Oslo by Elmgreen & Dragset the book ‘Biography’ was published to celebrate the artists’ almost twenty years of art-making. Elmgreen & Dragset consider an exhibition to be a work of art in itself, with all its narrative, choreographic and social possibilities and ‘Biography’ examines the very conditions of exhibiting. Works that initially arrived from very different contexts are here brought together and the new constellation generates altered readings and additional layers of meaning. A durational live act is juxtaposed with a series of wall pieces, and existing sculptures find their place in the context of new site specific environments. The exhibition at the Astrup Fearnley Museet is the first in a three-part exhibition series by Elmgreen & Dragset entitled ‘Biography’, followed by shows at the National Gallery of Denmark in Copenhagen and at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.