Philippe Parreno's Four-Exhibition Retrospective Across Europe and US

Philippe Parreno stages a multi-venue retrospective across four institutions in 2009-2010: Kunsthalle Zurich (May 9 – August 6), Centre Pompidou Paris (June 3 – September 7), Irish Museum of Modern Art Dublin (November 3 – January 24), and Bard College New York (2010). Each exhibition is distinct, tailored to its space. At Zurich, he installed marquee lights creating a rhythmic sequence, with ventriloquist dolls made with Rirkrit Tiravanija and black Speech Bubbles. At Centre Pompidou, he opened the space to the street, removed window filters, and projected a 70mm film reconstructing the 1968 train journey of Robert Kennedy's body from New York to Washington, echoing Walt Whitman's elegy for Lincoln. The film alternates with a giant aluminum Christmas tree and phosphorescent posters. He also works with the education department for children's shadow puppet shows. At Bard College, ten curatorial students each mount a separate exhibition of his work. Parreno discusses his shift away from collaboration, citing Zidane with Douglas Gordon as a culmination. He explores ideas of fragmentation, narration, and the permeability of images, referencing Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and Pierre Boulez. A book of interviews with Hans-Ulrich Obrist and a children's book illustrated by Johan Olander accompany the project.