Jac Leirner
São Paulo, 1961
Jac Leirner is one of the most important exponents of Conceptual Art today. Since the 1980s her sculptures, paintings, and installations have questioned the notion of the original and the value of artworks. In her work, quotidian materials, such as bags, business cards, and hardware, are arranged into minimalist patterns intended to change how viewers understand the items’ roles in the world. Nice to Meet You (Crossing Artists) (2019) is a wall-based sculptural work — made with business cards that Leirner has collected over the years— that subtly comments on the consumerism of the culture industry, while 120 Levels (2018) demonstrates the artist’s concern with industrial materials and tools, as well as her ongoing dialogue with artists she admires.
Jac Leirner lives and works in São Paulo. Early this year she was awarded the 25th Museum Ludwig’s Wolfgang Hahn Prize. Among her most recent solo exhibitions, stand-out: Ilmin Museum of Art (Seoul, 2019); Fruitmarket Gallery, (Edinburgh, 2017); MoCA Shanghai, (Shanghai, 2016); Museo Tamayo, (Mexico City, 2014); Yale School of Art (New Haven, 2012). Her extensive resume also includes participations at: Venice Biennale (1997, 1990), Documenta (1992) and Bienal de São Paulo (1989, 1983). Leiner’s work is present in the following collections: Tate Modern (London), MoMA and Guggenheim (New York), MOCA (Los Angeles), Carnegie Museum of Art (Pittsburgh), Museo Reina Sofía (Madrid), among others.
