Michaël
Borremans paintings are dream-like and haunting, their highly suggestive
atmosphere lingering long in the mind of the viewer. He is a painter of
psychic states – scenes full of introspection and narrative disjunction.
In an atmosphere akin to the unreality of a film set, he chooses the unnoticed,
the detail or the scene away from centre-stage, and transforms it, charging
it with new meaning.
His brushwork and definition shorthand Manet, the forms themselves occasionally
echoing Goya, but his paintings seem arrested in a particular moment in
time – that of the 1950s and early 1960s, a post-war world, pre-sexual
revolution, devoid of bright colour, where pragmatism and stoicism ruled
over beauty and luxury. His palette is full of subtle, often gloomy hues,
but their juxtaposition creates a jewel-like composition whose power can
quietly dominate an entire wall.
Borremans deliberately plays down the potential drama in his scenes. Instead
his work is infused with an atmosphere which is both gentle and sinister.
Borremans
has been working with Zeno X from 2000 onwards. A solo exhibition of his
drawings opened October 2004 at the Museum Für Gegenwartskunst in
Basel (CH). This show travels to S.M.A.K., Gent (BE) and Cleveland Museum
of Art, Ohio (US). The painting show "The Performance"was held
at S.M.A.K. Gent (B), toured to the Parasol unit foundation for contemporary
art, London (UK) and The Royal Hibernian Academy, Gallagher Gallery, Dublin
(IRL) during 2005. In 2006 Borremans had a solo show at La Maison Rouge
in Paris (FR) and this year his video projects will be shown at De Appel
in Amsterdam (NL) and the Centre of Visual Arts in Coimbra (PT). |
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SOLO EXHIBITIONS |
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| 2008 |
Gallery Koyanagi, Tokyo (JP), (October 30 - January, 2009) |
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'Painted Fruit', Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (BE), (April 26 - May 31, 2008) |
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'Veldwerk', Centro de Artes Visuais, Coimbra (PT), (January 21 - April 20) |
| 2007 |
"Veldwerk", De Appel,
Amsterdam (NL), (September 7 - October 14) |
| 2006 |
La
Maison Rouge - Fondation Antoine de Galbert, Paris (FR), (June 8 - September
24) |
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"Horse
Hunting", David Zwirner Gallery, New York (US), (March 7 - April 1) |
| 2005 |
"The
Performance", The Royal Hibernian Academy, Gallagher Gallery, Dublin
(IR), (July 14 - September 4), (cat) |
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"Hallucination
and Reality", The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland (US), (May 22
- September 4), (cat) |
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"The Performance ", Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art,
London (UK), (May 3 - June 30), (cat) |
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"An
Unintended Performance", S.M.A.K., Gent (BE), (February 5 - April 10),
(cat) |
| 2004 |
"Zeichnungen",
Museum Für Gegenwartskunst, Basel (CH), (October 16 - January 9 2005),
(cat) |
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"Four
Fairies", Kunsthalle Bremerhaven, Bremerhaven (DE), (June 26 - August
15) |
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"Fisherman's
Luck", Zeno X Storage - Borgerhout, Antwerp (BE), (March 27 - May 1) |
| 2003 |
"Trickland",
David Zwirner Gallery, New York (US), (February 13 - March 8) |
| 2002 |
"Young
and Innocent", Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (BE), (January 24 - March 2) |
| 2000 |
Vereniging
van het SMAK, Ghent (BE), (March 17 - April 23) |
| 1999 |
"The
Fetish Paintings", Croxhapoxruimte, Ghent (BE) |
| 1998 |
"The
Mind and it's Limit's", In den Bouw, Kalken (BE) |
| 1997 |
Huize
St.-Jacobus, Ghent (BE), (23 February - 16 March) |
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"Cerebral
Office", Voorkamer, Lier (BE), (December 21 - February 1) |
| 1996 |
Croxhapoxruimte,
Ghent (BE) |
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GROUP EXHIBITIONS |
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| 2008 |
'The Eternal Flame', Kunsthaus Baselland, Basel (CH), (August 10 - October 5) |
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'Memories of Tomorrow: Works from the UBS Art Collection', Shanghai Art Museum, Shangai (CN), (June 6 - July 20, 2008) |
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'Eclipse - Art in a Dark Age', Moderna Museet, Stockholm (SE), (May 31 - August 24, 2008) |
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'PopEye: The art of music / The music of art', Oude Gevangenis, Hasselt (BE), (May 7 - June 15, 2008) |
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'Locked-in', Casino Luxembourg, Luxembourg (LU), (April 19 - June 29, 2008) |
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'Women portraits', Overbeck Gesellschaft, Lübeck (DE), (March 30 - May 11, 2008) |
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'The Hands of Art', Martha Herford Museum, Herford (DE), (March 26 - June 1, 2008 ) |
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'Size Matters: XS - Recent Small-Scale Paintings', Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN (US), (March 28 - August 24, 2008) |
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'Collecting Collections: Highlights from the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles', MOCA, Los Angeles (US), (February 9 - May 19, 2008) |
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'The Hands of Art', S.M.A.K., Gent (BE), (January 28 - March 16) |
| 2007 |
"Gashoven 07: zonevreemd", CC Het Gasthuis, Aarschot (BE), (September 7 - 30) |
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"As I Am You Will Be: The Skeleton in Modern Art", Cheim & Read, New York, NY (US), (September 20 - November 10) |
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"Size
Matters: XS - Recent Small-Scale Paintings", Hudson Valley Center for
Contemporary Art, Peekskill, NY (US), (June 9 - November 10) |
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"Artempo:
Where time becomes art", Palazzo Fortuny, Venice (IT), (June 8 - November 5) |
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"Old School", Hauser and Wirth, London (GB), (May 11 - June 5) |
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"Hammer Contemporary Collection - Part II", Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (US), (April 19 - August 5) |
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"Comfort/Discomfort",
Stedelijk Museum, 's Hertogenbosch (NL), (April 7 - June 17) |
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"Works
on paper", Zeno X Gallery & Zeno X Storage, Antwerp (BE), (January
17 - February 17) |
| 2006 |
"Brainbox
- Unit 4", Croxhapox, Gent (BE), (October 26 - November 5) |
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"25 years
Zeno X Gallery", Zeno X Gallery & Zeno X Storage, Antwerp (BE),
(October 17 - December 2) |
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"MUTE",
Hofstraat 2, Antwerp (BE), (September 24 - October 8) |
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"Leeftijdgenoten",
Roger Roveelmuseum, Machelen-aan-de-Leie (BE), (September 3 - November 19) |
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"A Brighter
Day", James Cohan Gallery, New York (US), (June 2 - July 20) |
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"Back
to the Figure/Zurück zur Figur", Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung,
Munich (DE), (June 2 - August 13) (cat.) |
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"reverence',
The Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, New York, NY (US), (May 20
- April 2007) |
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"Michaël
Borremans, Fernando Bryce, Dan Perjovschi. Drawings", Württembergischer
Kunstverein, Stuttgart (DE), (March 31 - June 5) |
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"Of Mice
and Men - Berlin Biennale", Berlin (DE), (March 25 - May 28) |
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"New
Acquisitions", SF MOMA, San Francisco (US), (February - 2007) |
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"Collectiepresentatie
- nieuwe aanwinsten", S.M.A.K., Gent (BE), (January 27 - April 2) |
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ARS
06 exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art KIASMA, Helsinki (FI), (January
20 - August 27) |
| 2005 |
"Pijn",
Museum Dr. Guislain, Ghent (BE), (October 8 - April 30, 2006) |
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"Drawings
from the Modern, 1975-2005", MOMA, New York, NY (US), (September 14
- January 6, 2006) (cat) |
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"Slow
Art: Zeitgenössische Kunst aus Flandern und den Niederlandent",
Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf (DE), (July 16 - November 6) |
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"(...)
the duck was still alive", Abbaye Saint-André, Centre d'Art
Contemporain, Meymac (FR), (July 9 - October 30 2005) |
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"STRATA.
Difference and Repitition", Fondazione Davide Halevim, Milan (IT),
(May 26 - July 2) |
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"Visionair
België, c'est arrivé près de chez nous", Paleis
voor Schone Kunsten, Brussel (BE), (February 18 - May 15) |
| 2004 |
"Drafting
Deceit", Apexart, New York (US), (Nov. 17 - Dec. 22) |
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Manifesta
5, European Biennale of Contemporary Art, San Sebastian (ES), (11 June -
30 September), (cat) |
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"Zie
Tekening", Project Voorkamer, Stedelijk Museum Wuyts-Van Campen &
Baron Caroly, Lier (BE), (February 20 - May 2) |
| 2003 |
"Comme
des Garçons", seven exhibitions on various locations (Moscow,
Zürich, Belin, Milan, Madrid, London, New York), (September - February
2004), (cat) |
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"Neue
werke im Kupferstichkabinett", Offentliche Kunstsammlung Basel, Basel
(CH), (July 5 - August 17) |
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"Gelijk
het leven is", 50 jaar Belgische en Internationale kunst uit de collectie,
S.M.A.K., Ghent (BE), (June 28 - September 14) |
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Art
34 Basel, presented by Zeno X Gallery, Basel (CH), (June 18 - June 23) |
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"Apparitions",
Musée des beaux-arts de Tourcoing, Tourcoing (FR), (March 19 - April
19) |
| 2002 |
"Pertaining
to Painting", Austin Museum of Art, Austin, Texas (US), (November 23
- February 2 2003), (cat) |
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"Pertaining
to Painting", Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Texas (US), (June
28 - September 29), (cat) |
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Art
33 Basel, presented by Zeno X Gallery, Basel (CH), (June 12 - June 17) |
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"The
House of Fiction", Sammlung Hauser & Wirth, St. Gallen (CH), (May
5 - October 13), (cat) |
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The
Armory Show 2002, pres. by Zeno X Gallery, New York (US), (February 22 -
February 25) |
| 2001 |
"Works
on paper", Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (BE), (December 8 - January 22 2002) |
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Art
32 Basel, presented by Zeno X Gallery, Basel (CH), (June 13 - June 18) |
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The
Armory Show 2001, presented by Zeno X Gallery, New York (US), (February
23 - February 26) |
| 2000 |
"Was
Rubens een dribbelaar?", Cultureel Centrum, Berchem (BE), (May 15 -
June 24) |
| 1999 |
"(With)
Drawings into 2000", Van Laere Contemporary Art, Antwerp (BE) |
| 1998 |
Kunstsalon
van Gent, Sint-Pietersabdij, Ghent (BE) |
| 1997 |
"Alom
& Hiernevens", Zwartzustersklooster (Project van Voorkamer VZW),
Lier (BE) |
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"Schilderkunst-Hedendaags-Belgisch",
Croxhapox, Ghent (BE), (Nov. 8 - Dec. 21) |
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PUBLICATIONS |
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| 2008 |
Weight
De Appel, Amsterdam (NL) - Centro de Artes Visuais, Coimbra (PT) |
| 2007 |
MoMA Highlights since 1980
MoMA, New York, NY (US) |
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Ziek - Tussen lichaam en geest
Museum Dr. Guislain, Gent (BE) |
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50 jaar Vrienden van het S.M.A.K.
Vrienden van het S.M.A.K., Gent (BE) |
| 2006 |
Horse Hunting
David
Zwirner, New York (US) |
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Von Mausen
und Menschen - Of Mice and Men - 4 berlin biennale für zeitgenössische
kunst
KW
Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (DE) - curated by Maurizio Cattelan,
Massimiliano Gioni and Ali Subotnick |
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ARS 06
- Toden tuntu Sense of the Real
Museum
of contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki (FI) |
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Cultuurprijzen
Vlaanderen 2005
Flagey,
Brussels (BE) |
| 2005 |
Vitamin
D - New Perspectives in Drawing
Edited
by Phaidon Press |
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Michaël
Borremans: The Performance
texts by Patrick Murphy, Ziba de Weck and Hans Rudolf Reust,
Hatje Cantz Publishers |
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La Belgique
Visionaire België: C'est arrivé près de chez nous
Edited
by Bozar Books, Brussels, Het Paleis voro Schone Kunsten, Brussels (BE) |
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Slow Art:
Zeigenössische Kunst aus Flandern und den Niederlanden
Museum
Kuns Palast, Düsseldorf (DE) |
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Drawing
from the Modern 1975-2005
The
Museum of Modern Art MOMA, New York (US) |
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Pijn/ La
douleur/ Pain
Museum
Dr. Guislain, Gent (BE) |
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Contemporary
Art in Belgium 2006
Edited
by Best Of Publishing, Brussels (BE) |
| 2004 |
Michaël
Borremans: Zeichnungen / Tekeningen / Drawings
Kunstmuseum Basel - Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Verlag
der Buchhandlung Walther König Koln, 2004 |
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Stripped
Bare - Der entblösste Körper in der zeitgenössischen Kunst
und Fotografie
Herausgegeben von Marianne Karabelnik, mit Werken aus der
Sammlung Thomas Koerfer, Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2004, p. 71 |
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With
All Due Intent
Manifesta 5 San Sebastian catalogue, 2004, pp. 228-231 |
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Not
Afraid: Rubell Family Collection
Phaidon Press, London and New York, 2004, pp. 224-225 |
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MOCA
25th Anniversary Art Auction
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, California
(US) |
| 2003 |
Comme
des Garçons
Edited by Comme des Garçons, 2003 |
| 2002 |
Open
Days
Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo (NL), Edited by
ROMA Publications |
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Pertaining
to Painting
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (US) |
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The
House of Fiction
Samlung Hauser & Wirth in der Lokremise, St.Gallen (CH),
text by Michaela Unterdörfer / Umberto Eco |
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Art
33 Basel
Messe Basel, Basel (CH) |
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Michaël
Borremans
Edited by Vereniging van het SMAK, (text by Ann Demeester) |
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The
Armory Show
Pier 88 & 90, New York (US) |
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PUBLIC COLLECTIONS |
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Art Institute
of Chicago (US) |
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Carnegie
Museum of Art, Pittsburgh (US) |
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County
Museum of Art, Los Angeles (US) |
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Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX (US) |
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High Museum
of Art, Atlanta, GA (US) |
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Hudson Valley
for Contemporary Art, New York (US) |
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Musée d'art moderne de la ville de Paris, Paris (FR) |
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Museum
of Contemporary Art LA, Los Angeles (US) |
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Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston (US) |
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Museum
of Modern Art MOMA, New York (US) |
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Museum
of Modern Art of San Francisco (US) |
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National
Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (CN) |
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Offentliche
Kunstsammlung Basel (CH) |
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Rubell Family
Collection, Miami (US) |
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Stedelijk
Museum voor Actuele Kunst S.M.A.K, Ghent (BE) |
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San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA (US) |
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The American Friends of the Isreal Museum, New York, NY (US) |
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UCLA Hammer
Museum, Los Angeles (US) |
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Walker Art
Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota (US) |
