Hauser & Wirth is pleased to announce its representation of the renowned American artist and filmmaker, Harmony Korine, originally from Bolinas California, and with a career spanning over 30 years, Korine has established himself as a boundary-pushing artist with a multidisciplinary practice that refuses to be confined to a single genre. The gallery will open its first exhibition of his works this summer at its West Hollywood location. The show promises to be a unique opportunity to experience the full range of the artist's multidisciplinary practice and a glimpse into the mind of one of the most influential filmmakers of his generation. Prospective visitors have the chance to be swept away by the hypnotic, otherworldly atmosphere of his art.
Korine's art is a testament to his unrelenting spirit of experimentation, humour, and poetry, which he calls ‘Mistakist Art.’ Inspired by everyday material culture, his works incorporate a diverse range of materials and themes, from squeegees, house paint, and steak knives, to distorted language and intentionally misspelt words. The result is a mesmerising and otherworldly atmosphere that blurs the lines between high and low art, with the juxtaposing ability to attract and repel its observers at the same time.
At a young age, he began accompanying his father, a documentary filmmaker, on shoots chronicling alternative cultures in the South. This early exposure to eccentric and marginalised American societies had a profound influence on his artistic vision. Korine went on to study dramatic writing at New York University, but dropped out after one semester to pursue a career as a skateboarder. It was during this time that he met Larry Clark, and has since forged a fruitful, eclectic career as an artist, whose successes can be appreciated within the gallery's exhibition.
Marc Payot, President of Hauser & Wirth, describes Korine as a real-time psychoanalysis of contemporary America, fearless in his expression and unconcerned with consensus. “In this sense,” Payot adds, “Harmony takes his place among such artists in our program as Paul McCarthy, Mike Kelley, and Rita Ackermann.”
As a filmmaker, Korine first rose to prominence with his contribution to the script for the 1995 film Kids directed by Larry Clark. Since then, he has refused to be contained within a specific artistic direction. And has continued to forge a path guided by memory, emotion, and physical sensation, producing works that evoke a feeling, connection to colours and characters, and a looping, trance-like experience, which will surely be evoked at the exhibition itself.
At a young age, he began accompanying his father, a documentary filmmaker, on shoots chronicling alternative cultures in the South. This early exposure to eccentric and marginalised American societies had a profound influence on his artistic vision. Korine went on to study dramatic writing at New York University, but dropped out after one semester to pursue a career as a skateboarder. It was during this time that he met Larry Clark, and has since forged a fruitful, eclectic career as an artist, whose successes can be appreciated within the gallery's exhibition.
Marc Payot, President of Hauser & Wirth, describes Korine as a real-time psychoanalysis of contemporary America, fearless in his expression and unconcerned with consensus. “In this sense,” Payot adds, “Harmony takes his place among such artists in our program as Paul McCarthy, Mike Kelley, and Rita Ackermann.”
As a filmmaker, Korine first rose to prominence with his contribution to the script for the 1995 film Kids directed by Larry Clark. Since then, he has refused to be contained within a specific artistic direction. And has continued to forge a path guided by memory, emotion, and physical sensation, producing works that evoke a feeling, connection to colours and characters, and a looping, trance-like experience, which will surely be evoked at the exhibition itself.