Mike Kelley's Tate Modern retrospective recontextualizes his legacy for contemporary identity and spirituality
From October 3 to March 9, Tate Modern in London will host Mike Kelley's touring exhibition, Ghost and Spirit, which reflects on his artistic journey from the late 1970s until his passing in 2012. This exhibition, which previously appeared at Düsseldorf's K21, categorizes his oeuvre into three distinct phases: early conceptual installations and performances such as The Futurist Ballet (1973) and Monkey Island (1982–83), along with the significant Half a Man series (1987–91). Featured works include Educational Complex (1995) and Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstructions (2000–11). The accompanying catalogue contains essays by Cauleen Smith and a dialogue between curator Glenn Phillips and Suzanne Lacy. Kelley's later Kandors series (1999–2011) was displayed in Exploded Fortress of Solitude at Gagosian London in late 2011.
Key facts
- Mike Kelley's Ghost and Spirit retrospective is at Tate Modern in London from 3 October to 9 March
- The exhibition divides Kelley's career into three phases from the late 1970s to his death in 2012
- Early works include The Futurist Ballet (1973) and Monkey Island (1982–83), exploring marginal aesthetics
- The Half a Man series (1987–91) featured used stuffed toys, with More Love Hours Than Can Ever Be Repaid shown at Rosamund Felsen Gallery in Los Angeles
- Kelley shifted to themes of repressed trauma after audiences misinterpreted his work as about child abuse
- Educational Complex (1995) and Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstructions (2000–11) explore false memory, with Day Is Done exhibited at Gagosian in 2005
- The catalogue includes essays by Cauleen Smith, Suzanne Lacy, Glenn Phillips, and Catherine Wood, linking Kelley to identity and spirituality
- Kelley's Kandors series (1999–2011) was shown in Exploded Fortress of Solitude at Gagosian London in late 2011, before his death at age 57
Entities
Artists
- Mike Kelley
- Fortunato Depero
- Cauleen Smith
- Suzanne Lacy
- Glenn Phillips
- Catherine Wood
- Cally Spooner
- Pamela Rosenkranz
- Mire Lee
- Mark Leckey
- Grace Ndiritu
- Andy Warhol
- Sylvia Plath
- Nick Drake
- Robert Hughes
Institutions
- Tate Modern
- K21
- University of Michigan
- CalArts
- Rosamund Felsen Gallery
- Gagosian
- Artforum
- PBS
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Düsseldorf
- Germany
- Michigan
- United States
- Los Angeles