Modern Art Oxford presents Barbara Kruger an exhibition on view 28 June–31 August 2014. Her instantly recognisable works incorporate bold slogans, colour and dramatic presentations of text and image to investigate strategies of power and influence at play in mass media and contemporary popular culture.
For Modern Art Oxford, Kruger presents a new site-specific text work that envelops the entire surface area of the Upper Gallery from lintel to floor using black, white and green—colours that seldom appear in her repertoire—this new installation was developed in direct response to the distinctive quality of space and light in the gallery.
While the exhibition addresses ideas of value and consumerism, this work also presents a more philosophical trajectory, confronting the viewer with questions and declarations such as, “IS THERE LIFE WITHOUT PAIN?” “IS THAT ALL THERE IS?” and “THE BRUTAL RELENTLESS FEARFUL END OF IT ALL.” The repeated motif of an emoticon—a hallmark of smartphone and social media communication—references the explosion of digital culture across online and mobile platforms and the influence of these technologies on our lives.
In the Middle Gallery, a series of classic paste-up works from the 1980s evidence Kruger’s iconic style of composition; they are presented alongside Plenty LA (2008), a film capturing the gaze of the phone-obsessed consumer.
In the Piper Gallery, a four screen installation—a rare presentation of Kruger’s film Twelve (2004)—portrays twelve exchanges between a series of characters that are both confrontational and evocative of the casual cruelty of soap operas, talk shows and political debate.
Artist talk: Barbara Kruger in conversation with Iwona Blazwick, Director of Whitechapel Gallery, Friday 27 June, 5–6pm
Modern Art Oxford
30 Pembroke St
Oxford OX11BP
