From touring massive eroded sculptures, collaborating with Pokémon on his very own mini episode to being appointed as the creative director for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Daniel Arsham hasn’t left many boxes unchecked over the past 20 years. Throughout it all, gallerist Emmanuel Perrotin has played an essential role in nurturing the New York-based artist’s growth to the meteoric status he’s at today through a range of exhibitions at his global outposts.
To celebrate their 20-year partnership, next month Perrotin will host a dual exhibition of Arsham’s work at its Paris and New York locations. With space and materiality in mind, the show will explore many key moments within Arsham’s career, particularly an upcoming collaboration with Star Wars, such as a series of new eroded sculptures made in Hydrostone and quartz crystals, along with a new series of paintings created using an impasto paint that the artist specially developed to imbue the textures of the Renaissance.
“I met Daniel when he was 22 years old, an emerging artist living in his studio, and I was immediately drawn to his incredible talent and distinct vision,” recalled Emmanuel Perrotin in a statement. “Daniel’s practice breaks the boundaries of fine art and exists across industries. As his success has grown, he has been able to keep his practice open to a broad audience, as a leader in editions, collaborations, and a widespread internet presence, which is admirable. It has been a pleasure to grow with Daniel, our gallery expanding alongside his career.”
Additional highlights in the show will include never-before-seen sketches Arsham made on hotel stationary that hang in a classic salon-style, as well as his signature Falling Clocks and Veiled Poem artworks that manipulate the surfaces of the gallery walls.
Despite shifting from one medium or motif to the next, nostalgia has always played a through line within Arsham’s 20 year career. A certain aptitude, and perhaps foresight, to memorialize that which may be overlooked in the present and will inevitably be studied by future civilizations. “This is not an easy, sweet nostalgia,” noted Patrick Moore, director and curator of The Andy Warhol Museum, “but a somewhat grim reminder that the great wonders of American life and popular culture are in the past. This is evident in Arsham’s drawings on hotel stationary, which document the artist’s success as a physical archive of travel as well as the transformation of his style and mark-making over time.”
As with each of his exhibitions and limited-edition releases, the artist looks to always make things that he wants “to see exist in the world,” one that he hopes “brings introspection and joy to others,” noted Arsham.
20 Years / 20 Ans will begin at Perrotin Paris from September 2 to October 7, following with a show across the pond in New York from September 6 to October 14.
Elsewhere, Wolfgang Tillmans explores simultaneous experiences in upcoming “Fold” exhibition.
Perrotin
76 Rue de Turenne
75003 Paris, France
Perrotin
130 Orchard St
New York, NY 10002
