Saâdane Afif
Saâdane Afif was born in 1970 in Vendôme, France
He lives and works in Berlin
His multifaceted work draws on the know-how of craftsmen, musicians and writers in collaborative projects that challenge the very concept of the unique work of art or the individual creator. Afif, who describes himself as a “talkative conceptual artist,” uses forms of popular culture, such as music, to bring people together in a shared moment of creativity. Through the exploration of different media (performances, objects, sculptures, texts, posters, etc.), it provokes both the collapse and the expansion of the notion of creative paternity.
Since 2004, he has regularly commissioned other artists and writers to produce songs inspired by his works. These texts have become a key material of his work, the materialization of what is happening in the mind of the “watcher”, a process of interpretation inherent to the relationship between art and its audience.
His most recent solo exhibitions include: Saâdane Afif. The Fountain Archives and Beyond, Fundació Tapiès, Barcelona (2021); The Fountain Archives, Jumex, Mexico (2019) ; This is Ornamental, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2018); Paroles, WIELS, Brussels (2018); Ici., Leopold-Hoesch Museum, Düren; and Là-bas., La Panacée, Montpellier (2017-2018); The Fountain Archives, Center Pompidou, Paris (2017); Quoi? L’Eternité, Atelier Hermès, Seoul (2016); Vice de Forme: Das Kabarett, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2016); Das Ende der Welt, Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin (2015); and Blue Time, Blue Time, Blue Time…, IAC Villeurbanne (2013).
Recently, Saâdane Afif was appointed as convener of Bergen Assembly 2022. He also participated in international events such as Documenta 12 (2007), the 8th Berlin Biennale (2014), and the 56th Venice Biennale (2015).
His work is in the permanent collection of the Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Musée d’Art Moderne de la ville de Paris; the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco; the MUDAM, Luxembourg; the Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK), Frankfurt; the Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich; among other institutional and private collections around the world.
He received the Marcel Duchamp Prize in 2009 and the Meurice Prize for Contemporary Art in 2015.
Exhibition View, Fondació Antonio Tàpies, 2021, Barcelona, Spain
Exhibition View, Fondació Antonio Tàpies, 2021, Barcelona, Spain
The Fountain Archives - Exhibition view, Museo Jumex, Mexico City, 2019
A-Z, The Marzona Collection - Exhibition view, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, 2016
The Fountain Archives, 2008-ongoing - Pages torn out from publications, framed - Exhibition view, Wiels, Brussels, 2018
The Fountain Archives and Beyond - Exhibition view, Fundació Tàpies, Barcelona, 2021
The Fountain Archives and Beyond - Exhibition view, Fundació Tàpies, Barcelona, 2021
Musiques pour Tuyauterie - Exhibition view, mor charpentier, Paris, 2018
Flute (Anagram Edit), 2018 - Mixed media installation
Flute (No Commercial Love), 2018 - Ostrich bone
Laocoon, 2021 - Severed resin cast of the Ephebe of Marathon, stainless steel
Laocoon, 2021 - Severed resin cast of the Ephebe of Marathon, stainless steel - Detail
Philippe/Filip de/van Belgique/België, 2017 - Digital print on matt tarpaulin - Exhibition view, PS120, Berlin, 2019
Paroles - Exhibition view, Wiels Center for Contemporary Art, Brussels, 2018
Deux mille millimètres d’infinis possibles, 2018 - Installation with wooden folding rulers – Exhibition view, Wiels, Brussels, 2018
This is Ornemental - Exhibition view, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, 2018
Vie de Yasmine, 2022 - Mixed-media installation
This is Ornemental - Exhibition view, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, 2018
The Heptahedron Seat Series 2, 2020 - Series of 7 chairs, birch plywood, resin coated red
Chair (The Coalman) Model 2, 2020 - Birch plywood, resin coated red
Vice de Forme: Das Kabaret - Exhibition view, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, 2016
Vice de Forme: Das Kabaret - Concert view, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, 2016
Vice de Forme, 2009-2018 - Mixed media installation - Exhibition view, Wiels, Brussels, 2018
Vice de Forme, 2018 - Polished marble sculpture
Quoi? L'Eternité! - Exhibition view - Atelier Hermès, Seoul, 2016
Quoi? L'Eternité! - Exhibition view - Atelier Hermès, Seoul, 2016
L'Eternité L6_Yakushima, 2016 - Paint on fabric, UV inkjet print on plexiglas, wooden frame
Sound Eclipse – Exhibition view, mor charpentier, Paris, 2020
L'Eternité (poster), 2017 - Silkscreen on paper
Tokyo Art Meeting VI - Exhibition view, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, 2015
Three Tokyo Sessions, 2015 - Series of handmade Japanese lanterns
A Lecture, A Recording and a Few Witnesses, 2010 - Series of 10 vases – Exhibition view, MMK, Frankfurt, 2013
A Lecture, a Recording and a Few witnesses, 2010 - Mixed media installation
Reading BU1.8 (Stratégie de l'inquiétude, 1998), 2010 - Clay, handpainted enamel
The Fairytale Recordings - Exhibition view, Schinkel Pavilion, Berlin, 2011
The Fairytale Recordings - Exhibition view, Lafayette Anticipations, Paris, 2019
La Leçon de Géométrie, 2014 - Relics of performance - Installation view, 6th Marrakech Biennial, 2014
Souvenir: La Leçon de Géométrie, 2014-2015 - Installation with woolen moroccan rug - Exhibition view, Wiels, Brussels, 2018
Ici. - Exhibition view, Leopold Hoesch & Papiermuseum, Düren, 2014
Ici./Là-bas., 2014 - Mixed media installation - Exhibition view, La Panacée, Montpellier, 2017
Technical Specifications - Exhibition view, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, 2014
Feedback - Exhibition view, EEAC, Castelló, 2009
Blue Time, Blue Time, Blue Time... - Exhibition view, IAC Villeurbanne, 2013
Blue Time, Blue Time, Blue Time... - Exhibition view, IAC Villeurbanne, 2013
Blue Time (Sunburst), 2004 - Installation - Exhibition view, IAC Villeurbanne, 2013
L’S BELLS – The Busker of the Gray Line, 2012 Installation with hand-painted guitar – Exhibition view, IAC, Villeurbanne, 2013
L’S BELLS – The Busker of the Gray Line, 2012 - Mixed media installation - Exhibition view, mor charpentier, Paris, 2020
Das Ende Der Welt - Concert view, Museum fur Naturkunde, Berlin, 2015
Das Ende Der Welt - Concert view, Museum fur Naturkunde, Berlin, 2015
The Laguna's Tribute: A Corner Speaker in Venice - Performance view, 56th Venice Biennale, 2015
The Laguna's Tribute (poster) - Silkscreen print
Anthologie de l'Humour Noir, 2010 - Mixed media installation - Exhibition view, Wiels, Brussels, 2018
Anthologie de l'Humour Noir, 2010 - Mixed media installation - Exhibition view, Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2010
L'Humour Noir, 2010 - Ghanian coffin, mixed media
Black Chords, 2007 - Installation with electric guitars - Exhibition view, Wiels, Brussels, 2018
Black Chords, 2007 - Installation view, Nicolaïkerk, Utrecht, 2018