Agnieszka Kurant (born 1978) is a Polish interdisciplinary conceptual artist. She examines how economic, social, and cultural systems work in ways that blur the lines between reality and fiction.

Biography

Kurant was born in 1978 in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, Poland. She is of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

heritage, although was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Kurant only found out that her mother was Jewish and that her grandparents were

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivors when she was a teenager. She studied at the

University of Łódź The University of Łódź (, ) is a public research university founded in 1945 in Łódź, Poland, as a continuation of three higher education institutions functioning in Łódź in the interwar period — the Teacher Training Institute (192 ...

and holds an MA in Curating from

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a Member institutions of the University of London, constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The G ...

in London. Kurant is particularly interested in “the economy of the invisible,” which she explores in her work by creating imaginary locations, information systems, facts, and realities. Her work has been exhibited widely, including the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

12th International Architecture Exhibition, and is in the permanent collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Her work has been reviewed in major publications such as ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', '' Art in America'', ''

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

'' and ''

Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ × 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notably ...

'', where she also has been featured as a contributing writer. She is represented by Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in New York, where she lives and works. In 2015, the

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue between 88th and 89th Street (Manhattan), 89th Streets on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It hosts a permanent coll ...

commissioned her work ''The End of Signature'' to be projected onto the outside facade of the building and accessioned it to be part of the museum's permanent collection. Her first solo exhibition in the United States, ''exformation'', was featured at SculptureCenter in 2013 and she had a solo exhibition at the Center for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv in 2017. In 2010, Kurant represented Poland (along with the architect Aleksandra Wasilkowska) with the presentation ''Emergency Exit'' at the Venice Biennale 12th International Architecture Exhibition. Kurant was the 2017 visiting artist at MIT. In 2020, Kurant was a recipient of 2020 Art + Technology Lab grant from the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

* 2017: ''Assembly Line'', The Center for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv * 2017–2018: ''Collective Intelligence,''

SCAD Museum of Art The SCAD Museum of Art was founded in 2002 as part of the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia, and originally was known as the Earle W. Newton Center for British American Studies. The museum's permanent collection of more th ...

, Savannah

Group exhibitions

*2019: 16th Istanbul Biennial *2019: XXII

Milan Triennial The ''Milan Triennial'' (Triennale di Milano) is an art and design exhibition that takes place every three years at the Triennale di Milano Museum in Milan, Italy. History The exhibition was originally established in 1923 as a biennial architect ...

, ''Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival'' *2020–2021: ''Broken Nature'',

MoMA The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

, New York *2020–2021: ''Uncanny Valley: Being Human in the Age of AI,''

De Young Museum The de Young Museum, formally the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, is a fine arts museum located in San Francisco, California, named for early San Francisco newspaperman M. H. de Young. Located on the West Side (San Francisco), West Side of the ci ...

, San Francisco

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurant, Agnieszka 1978 births Living people 21st-century Polish women artists 21st-century Polish artists Polish conceptual artists Women conceptual artists Polish contemporary artists University of Łódź alumni Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London