Artist: Josh Kline
Exhibition title: Civil War
Venue: Modern Art, London, UK
Date: October 4 – November 11, 2017
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Modern Art, London
Modern Art are pleased to announce a solo exhibition by the American artist Josh Kline entitled Civil War, comprising a major new body of work. Civil War builds upon Kline’s project Unemployment, made and exhibited over the last two years, which looks at the potential human consequences of automation, artificial intelligence, and mass-unemployment in the decades ahead. Civil War explores the socio-political implications of these transformations in the context of the United States. The exhibition includes a large-scale installation of cast sculptures that appear as concrete rubble, as well as a new short film set in a utopian future America. Civil War is part of an ongoing cycle of installation-based projects by Kline about human life in the 21st Century.
Josh Kline was born in Philadelphia, PA, USA, in 1979, and he lives and works in New York City. Recent solo exhibitions of his work have taken place at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin (2016); Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR (2016); 47 Canal, New York City, NY (2016); and Modern Art Oxford, Oxford (2015). Kline has been included in groups shows such as Human Interest: Portraits from the Whitney’s Collection, the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City, NY (2016); the Fellbach Small Sculpture Triennial, Fellbach (2016); 9th Berlin Biennale, Berlin (2016); Life Itself, Moderna Museet, Stockholm (2016); Suspended Animation, Hirschorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C. (2016); America is Hard to See, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (2015); Overtime: The Art of Work, Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY (2015); 2015 Triennial: Surround Audience, New Museum, New York City, NY (2015); Looking Back/The 9th White Columns Annual, White Columns, New York City, NY (2015); ICA@50: Pleasing Artists And Publics Since 1963, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA (2014); Speculations on Anonymous Materials, Fridericianum, Kassel (2013); and New Pictures of Common Objects, MoMA/PS1, Long Island City, NY, USA (2012).
Josh Kline, Civil War, 2017, exhibition view, Modern Art, London
Josh Kline, Civil War, 2017, exhibition view, Modern Art, London
Josh Kline, Civil War, 2017, exhibition view, Modern Art, London
Josh Kline, Civil War, 2017, exhibition view, Modern Art, London
Josh Kline, Civil War, 2017, exhibition view, Modern Art, London
Josh Kline, Civil War, 2017, exhibition view, Modern Art, London
Josh Kline, Civil War, 2017, exhibition view, Modern Art, London
Josh Kline, Lies, 2017, cheap laptop, expensive laptop, hardware, duct tape, and unique customized wooden display installed dimensions: 95 x 54 x 52.5 cm, 37 3/8 x 21 1/4 x 5/8 ins
Josh Kline, Denial, 2017, cheap washing machine, expensive washing machine, hardware, and duct tape 110.5 x 89 x 70 cm, 43 1/2 x 35 1/8 x 27 1/2 ins
Josh Kline, Resentment, 2017, cheap vacuum cleaner, luxury vacuum cleaner, hardware, duct tape, and unique customized wooden display installed dimensions: 131.5 x 97 x 113.5 cm, 51 3/4 x 38 1/4 x 44 3/4 ins
Josh Kline, Fake News, 2017, cheap oven with electric range, expensive oven with 6-burner gas range, hardware, and duct tape, 95.5 x 86 x 85.5 cm, 37 5/8 x 33 7/8 x 33 5/8 ins
Josh Kline, Alternative Facts, 2017, cheap cellphone, luxury cellphone, hardware, duct tape, and unique customized wooden display installed dimensions: 95.2 x 35 x 32 cm, 37 1/2 x 13 3/4 x 12 5/8 ins
Josh Kline, Swing Voters, 2017, generic middle-class American clothing, textiles, fabric, and cloth; thread; metal curtain rod, 170.2 x 304.8 cm, 67 x 120 ins
Josh Kline, Another America is Possible, 2017, 3-channel super 16mm film on HD video, sound, colour projectors, media players, SD cards and speakers, 4:26 min
Josh Kline, Another America is Possible, 2017, 3-channel super 16mm film on HD video, sound, colour projectors, media players, SD cards and speakers, 4:26 min