Anri Sala presents his first monographic exhibition in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg in an ambitious installation across the galleries of level 1, the Grand Hall and the Pavilion of Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean. An ensemble of new and recent works juxtaposed with older pieces, will be accompanied by a major work, The Last Resort (2017), a sound installation of thirty-eight snare drums originally created for the Kaldor Public Art Projects in Sydney and now presented for the first time in Europe.

Far from being a mere companion to the image, sound plays a major role in Anri Sala’s work: it reveals space and is embraced for its ability to “open up” the present time. Associated with animated sculptures, drawings, photographs or sound installations, his films depict a surprisingly varied musical spectrum: the free jazz of saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc in Long Sorrow (2005) rubs shoulders with Schönberg’s music in The Present Moment (2014), the famous punk song Should I stay or should I go? in The Clash (2010) or Stravinsky’s Elegy in If and Only If (2018). In each of his works, the spectator’s subjective and sensory experience resonates with a collective, social and historical dimension.

This attention to experience is reflected in the specific way that Anri Sala considers his exhibitions. Each one has a unique configuration and is designed as a “continuum of presences and flows”, a “site of conjunctions and interrelations” in which the spectator plays an active role. “The idea,” the artist explains, “is not to chart a course or offer a possible scenario, but to synchronise the works together as if it were a musical score.”

Curators:
Suzanne Cotter
Christophe Gallois
Assisted by Sarah Beaumont

Exhibition design:
Studio Anri Sala / METAFORM Architects