Le Consortium Opens New Building with 'Deep Comedy' Exhibition

Le Consortium in Dijon inaugurated a new building designed by Shigeru Ban on June 9, 2011, with the opening exhibition 'Deep Comedy' running until November 10, 2011. The center, founded in 1977 by art students including Franck Gautherot, evolved from an association into a state-supported art center, adding dance, concerts, a collection, Presses du Réel editions, and Anna Sanders production company. The new architecture, conceived with Rémi Zaugg, transforms the former factory into a light-filled space with a large white cube, a mezzanine reproducing a former room, and a movable library floor. The exhibition, curated without a title or theme, features works by Olivier Mosset, Yan Pei-Ming, Emmanuel Frémiet, François Pompon, Rachel Feinstein, Daan van Golden, Richard Prince (1968 photographs), Rachel Harrison (Yucatan-inspired sculptures), Mark Leckey, Dan Graham (glass pavilion with rock films and plans for the unrealized Pavillon des Enfants), Julia Scher, Yayoi Kusama, Katharina Fritsch, William Wegman, Heimo Zobernig, and Gloria Friedmann. Dan Graham also curated a second exhibition adapted from a 2007 show in Marfa, Texas. The collection, built through purchases and productions, will be donated to the City of Dijon. The title 'Deep Comedy' references Dan Graham's Jerry Lewis side, according to Gautherot, marking an ironic expansion from the center's minimalist and conceptual roots.