Tracey Rose (born 1974) is a South African artist who lives and works in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Rose is best known for her performances, video installations, and photographs.

Biography

Tracey Rose was born in 1974 in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

, South Africa. She attended the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

, where she obtained her B.A. degree in Fine Arts in 1996. She taught at Vaal Triangle Technikon, Vanderbijl Park, South Africa, and at the

. In February and March 2001, she was

artist-in-residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

at the

South African National Gallery The Iziko South African National Gallery is the national art gallery of South Africa located in Cape Town. It became part of the Iziko collection of museums – as managed by the Department of Arts and Culture – in 2001. It then became an agenc ...

, where she developed her work for 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 (), ...

2001 curated by

Harald Szeemann Harald Szeemann (11 June 1933 – 18 February 2005) was a Swiss curator, artist, and art history, art historian. Having curated more than 200 exhibitions, many of which have been characterized as groundbreaking, Szeemann is said to have helped red ...

. Rose is represented in the US by Christian Haye of The Project. In 2006 The Independent named Tracey Rose was named as one of the 50 best artists of Africa . Baaba Maal,Owusu Ankomah; Ian Birrell, Margaret Busby, Augustus Casely-Hayford, Thelma Holt ,Frances Harding, Gregory Maqoma and Keith Shiri comprised the panel. Rose's work responds to the limitations of

dogma Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held definitively and without the possibility of reform. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Islam ...

and the flaws in institutionalized cultural discourse. Her practice, which is known for centering on performance, also includes photography, video, and installation. Always evident in her work is the artist's insistence in confronting the

politics of identity Identity politics is politics based on a particular identity, such as ethnicity, race, nationality, religion, denomination, gender, sexual orientation, social background, political affiliation, caste, age, education, disability, opinion, int ...

, including sexual, racial, and gender-based themes. According to Jan Avgikos, "part of Rose's appeal is her fluid referencing of '60s and '70s performance art". * ''The Thinker'', found object and text, 1996. reproduction of the sculpture ''The Thinker'' by

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

.Williamson, Sue
"A feature on an artist in the public eye: Tracey Rose"
in ''Artthrob'', no. 43, March 2001. * ''Span I'' and ''Span II'', 1997. The work was presented at the second Johannesburg Biennale in the show ''Graft'' curated by Colin Richards, 1997. The work was also presented at the

Dakar Biennale The Dakar Biennale, or Dak'Art - Biennale de l'Art Africain Contemporain, is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Dakar, Senegal. Dak'Art's focus has been on Contemporary African Art since 1996. History ...

in 2000., * ''Ongetiteld (Untitled)''. A video made with

surveillance cameras Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal ...

in which she shaves off all of her body hair. The work was presented in ''Democracy's Images'',

Bildmuseet Bildmuseet () is a contemporary art museum in Umeå, northern Sweden. History The museum was founded in 1981 by Umeå University and it exhibits Swedish and international contemporary art, visual culture, design, and architecture, sometimes alo ...

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; ; ; ; ) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Umeå is the largest Urban areas in Sweden, locality in Norrland and the t ...

in Sweden, 1998. * ''TKO'', 2000. * ''Ciao Bella'', 2001. The work was produced for the

2001. * ''Lolita'', 2001, lambda photograph, 120 x 120 cm. * ''The Kiss'', 2001, lambda photograph. * ''Venus Baartman'', 2001, lambda photograph, 120 x 120 cm. * ''Half A'', 2003, digital print, 55 x 37.5 cm. * ''Lucie's Fur Version 1:1:1 – La Messie'', 2003, lambda photograph, 148 x 102 cm. * ''The Prelude The Gardenpath'', 2006, DVD.

Exhibitions

According to Sue Williamson, "Tracey Rose is not a practitioner who jumps at every curatorial opportunity offered her, and has been known to withdraw from more than one exhibition if the circumstances have not seemed right." Rose's work has been widely exhibited in Africa, Europe and the United States. Recent solo exhibitions include ''The Cockpit'' at MC,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California, ''Plantation Lullabies'' at the Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa, both in 2008. Recent group exhibitions include ''El mirall sud-africà'' at the Centre De Cultura Contemporània De Barcelona, Spain, ''Mouth Open, Teeth Showing: Major Works from the True Collection'' at the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle, ''Memories of Modernity'' in Malmo, Sweden, ''Check List: Luanda Pop'' at the African Pavilion in the 52nd

, Italy, ''Heterotopias'' at the Thessaloniki Biennale in Greece, and ''Global Feminisms'' at The Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art in Brooklyn, New York (all in 2007), and the 11th Lyon Biennale ''A terrible beauty is born'' in 2011. Caryatid & BinneKant Die Wit Does and Imperfect Performance: A tale in Two States are among her most recent live performances, seen at the Düsseldorf Art Fair in Germany, and the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden, respectively. In 2001. Rose was also included in ''Plateau de l'humanite'' in the

49th Venice Biennale The 49th Venice Biennale, held in 2001, was an exhibition of international contemporary art, with 65 participating nations. The Venice Biennale takes place biennially in Venice, Italy. Prizewinners of the 49th Biennale included: Richard Serra a ...

curated by

Solo exhibitions

* The Project, New York, 1999 * The Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, 2000 * The Project, New York, 2000 * ''Ciao Bella'', The Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, 2002 * The Project, New York, 2002 * The Project, New York City, 2004 * ''The Thieveing Fuck and the Intagalactic Lay'', The Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, 2004 * The Project, New York City, NY, 2007 * ''Plantation Lullabies'', The Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, 2008 * ''The Cockpit'', MC Kunst, Los Angeles, 2008 * ''Raison d'être'', Espace

doual'art doual'art is a non profit cultural organisation and art centre founded in 1991 in Douala, Cameroon and focussed on new urban practices of African cities. History doual'art was registered as a non profit organization in 1992 and it was establish ...

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. It was home to Central Africa's largest port, now being replaced by Kribi port. It has the country ...

, 2009 *
Shooting down Babylon
'' ZEITZ MOCAA, 2021

Group exhibitions

* ''Scramble'', Civic Theatre Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1996 * ''Hitch-hiker'', Generator Art Space, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1996 * ''Graft-Trade Routes History and Geography'', (catalogue) 2nd Johannesburg Biennale, South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa, 1997 * ''50 Stories'' (co-curator), "Top of Africa" Carlton Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1997 * ''Cross/ings'', (catalogue) Museum of Contemporary Art, Tampa, USA, 1997 * ''FNB Vita Awards'', (catalogue) Sandton Art Gallery, Johannesburg, 1997 * ''Purity and Danger'', Gertrude Posel Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1997 * ''7th Triennale der Klienplastik'', (catalogue) Europe Africa, SudwestLB Forum, Stuttgart, Germany, 1998 * ''Guagrene Arte 98'', Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo per l'arte, Turino, Italy, 1998 * ''Democracy's Images'', (catalogue) Photography and Visual Art After Apartheid, Bildmuseet, Umea, Sweden, 1998 * ''Dark Continent'', Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees, Oudtshoorn, South Africa, 1998 * ''Art of the World 1998'', (catalogue) Passage de Retz, Paris, France, 1998 * ''Video Cult/ures ZKM'', Museum fur Neue Kunst, Karlsruhe, Germany, 1999 * ''Channel, South African National Gallery'', Cape Town, South Africa, 1999 * ''Dialog: Vice Verses'', (catalogue) Europe Africa, SudwestLB Forum, Stuttgart, Germany, 1999 * 2000 ArtPace, San Antonio (residency) *documenta 14 exhibition, Athens, Greece and Kassel, Germany, 2017 *Performa 07 biennial, New York, United States, 2017 *“''May You Live In Interesting Times''”, 58th Venice Biennale, Italy, 2019.

Interviews and press

* Nkgopoleng Moloi. 2018. Through the language of performance Tracey Rose creates art that refuses to settle. Bubblegum Club. * Zaza Hlalethwa. 2019. "More than one layer to the art and life of Tracey Rose". ''

Mail & Guardian The ''Mail & Guardian'', formerly the ''Weekly Mail'', is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, loca ...

''. * Carli Collison. 2022. "The calling of Tracey Rose". ''Mail & Guardian''. * Sindi-Leigh McBride. 2022. "The courage and catharsis of Tracey Rose". News24.

Scholarly influence

* Boulle, C., & Pather, J. 2019. ''Acts of Transgression.'' WITS Press: Johannesburg

References

Bibliography

* Sue Williamson
"A feature on an artist in the public eye: Tracey Rose"
in ''Artthrob'', no. 43, March 2001. * ''Tracey Rose: Fresh'', edited by Kellie Jones and Emma Bedford, South African National Gallery, 2003. * Emma Bedford, "Tracey Rose" in ''10 years 100 artists: art in a democratic South Africa'', ed. Sophie Perryer, Struik, 2004. * Tracey Murinik, "Tracey Rose: plasticienne", ''Les Carnets de la création'', Paris: Afrique du sud, Éditions de l'Oeil, 2005. * Pensa, Iolanda (ed.), 2017. Public Art in Africa. Art et transformations urbaines à Douala /// Art and Urban Transformations in Douala. Genève: Metis Presses.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Tracey 1974 births Living people 20th-century South African women artists 21st-century South African women artists Artists from Johannesburg South African contemporary artists South African performance artists South African women performance artists