James Clar

Dubai

As the exhibition title Iris was a Pupil clearly suggests it, the new works of American multi-media artist, James Clar, are about the sensation of visual stimuli, the constant challenge of finding new viewpoints, and the demand to keep seeing things from fresh perspectives.

“Iris was a Pupil” (also the title of a song by techno legends Autechre) calls the connotation of synaesthesia to mind. The theme of crossing borders is always present in the work of Clar, who lives and works between New York and Dubai: not only in the sense of redefining the physical limitations and boundaries of media (mediums), but also in the metaphysical sense of investigating subjects such as nationalism and globalism in the age of social technologies.

Aesthetically, his oeuvre is closely related to early minimalism and conceptualism. The new mission is to feedforward instead of to feedback. His technique always allows him to go beyond self-referentiality and touches very current themes while closely investigating the politics of representation. Clar’s work is deeply connected to art historical discourse, but cutting edge at the same time: where most artists would only ask How, Clar’s work is all about the Why.

James Clar

Carbon 12

November 5th – December 8th, 2012
Alserkal Avenue, Street 8, Al Quoz 1
Dubai
UAE

Calendar