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David Altmejd

David Altmejd (b. 1974, Montreal) explores the constitution and disintegration of the self, producing sculptures that expand the range of figurative representation and conjuring abstract regions beyond the realm of recognizability. His work is centered on the human form, which in Altmejd’s vision includes not only the body but also the mind, the imagination, and the soul, not to mention the ways the material world is perceived and felt through these channels. To this end, each of his works arises from an ongoing intuitive relationship with the large array of materials with which they are built, including clay, foam, mirror, quartz, resin, and both synthetic and human hair. Traditional processes like casting exist alongside idiosyncratic forms of bricolage; no two sculptures are alike, even when they seem to address related subjects. Altmejd approaches scale as a relative quantity, and over the course of his two-decade career, he has treated room-sized installations and intimate busts with the same levels of intensity and commitment. Cosmological in scope, his work reveals a world-making ethos across its surfaces and in its details, where countless moments of invention and curiosity reflect ever-unfolding mysteries of consciousness.

David Altmejd has been the subject of solo and two-person exhibitions at McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Canada (2024); Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels (2016); Kunsthal KAdE, Amersfoort, Netherlands (2016); Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark (2015, traveled to Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec); Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2014, traveled to Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal and Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean), among other institutions. In 2007, Altmejd represented Canada at the 52nd Venice Biennale, Italy. Recent group exhibitions include Handle With Care, Colección SOLO, Madrid (2024); Art Karnival, K11 Musea, Hong Kong (2022); A Gateway to Possible Worlds: Art & Science Fiction, Centre Pompidou-Metz, Metz, France (2022); In the Spotlight of the Night Life in the Gloom, Marta Herford Museum, Herford, Germany (2019); Zombies: Pay Attention!, Aspen Art Museum, Colorado (2018); ANIMA MUNDI, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (2018); Voyage d'hiver, Château de Versailles, France (2017). His work is in the permanent collections of institutions including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Guggenheim Museum, New York; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; Palm Springs Art Museum, California; and Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris. Altmejd lives and works in Los Angeles.

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