Barbara Kruger returns to London for her first major solo show in nearly two decades. On view at Serpentine‘s South Gallery, Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You. offers a comprehensive look into the acclaimed American artist’s career spanning early works from the 1970s to more modern video-based installations that play attuned to the frantic ways in which people consume information today.
A miner of images, Kruger is well-known for creating massive text-based displays that comment on a range of topics, from consumerism to women’s rights. Trained as a graphic designer, Kruger first worked in several editorial posts, learning the ins-and-outs of advertisement. In hindsight, her own artistic vernacular began to form through these experiences, perhaps most notable in her 1987 screen print, I Shop Therefore I Am — the oft-imitated work on vinyl, featuring her choice typeface, Futura Bold Oblique.
This is far from the first time this show will be on view. Having exhibited in Chicago and Los Angeles, Kruger, who carried an early interest in architecture, is well aware that Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You. will change according to the setting in which it’s placed. “It’s all architecturally defined, and that’s what I love doing,” noted Kruger in a past interview.
Never grounded to the past, Kruger is constantly readapting her messages to both the spaces in which they exhibit, as well as the latest advances in technology. At Serpentine, visitors will experience reconfigured artworks made into videos, what the artist dubbed “replays” of works, like Untitled (Your body is a battleground) (1989), across the indoor gallery, and outdoor space.
The exhibition will be on view in London until March 17.
Serpentine Gallery
Kensington Gardens
London W2 3XA, United Kingdom
