Projects 88: Lucy McKenzie

New York, September 9, 2008—For Projects 88: Lucy McKenzie, The Museum of Modern Art presents a site-specific installation of newly acquired paintings and prints by artist Lucy McKenzie (Scottish, b. 1977) as part of its ongoing Elaine Dannheisser Projects Series. McKenzie’s work questions the politics of representation, among other topics, and confronts the ways in which women have historically been portrayed in the media. Her practice incorporates painting, printmaking, drawing, and public performances such as concerts and poetry readings that reference historical models of artist clubs or salons. In 2007, McKenzie started the interior decoration company Atelier with illustrator Bernie Reid (Scottish, b. 1972) and fashion designer Beca Lipscombe (Scottish, b. 1973) to collaborate on designing public and private social spaces.

For this exhibition, their first commission for a museum, Atelier has created an installation that emulates the décor of a turn-of-the-century library. Mural paintings recreating walls paneled in dark wood take their inspiration from Art Nouveau architect Paul Hankar, while the stenciled carpet on the floor derives from design motifs by Gothic Revival architect Augustus Pugin. The exhibition, on view September 10 through December 1, 2008, is organized by Christophe Cherix, Curator, Department of Prints and Illustrated Books, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Projects series is coordinated by Kathy Halbreich, Associate Director, The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

The Brussels-based McKenzie recently returned to school in order to master the technique of trompe l’oeil painting seen in this installation. In 2008, she completed a course of traditional study at the Van Der Kelen Institute for decorative painting in Brussels. McKenzie studied for her BA at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Scotland from 1995 to 1999 and at Karlsruhe Kunstakademie in Germany in 1998. Her work has been featured at numerous museums and galleries throughout Europe and the U.S., and she has had solo shows at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2007), the ICA Boston (2004), and Tate Britain, London (2003). Group shows include UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2004), the Venice Biennale (2003), Kunsthalle Basel (2002), and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2001).

ABOUT THE CURATOR Christophe Cherix joined MoMA as Curator in the Department of Prints and Illustrated Books in July 2007. He was previously the Curator of the Cabinet des estampes in Geneva. Mr. Cherix's specialty is modern and contemporary art, with a particular focus on printed art of the 1960s and 1970s, and artists' books. His recent exhibitions include Book/Shelf (2008) at MoMA, which explored artists' use of the book as an object in contemporary art; a survey of vacuum-formed plastic multiples (2007); and a study of the prints of Henri Matisse (2006), both at the Musée d'art et d'histoire in Geneva. As Commissioner of the 25th Biennale of Graphic Arts in Slovenia in 2003, Cherix featured artists’ books as well as a range of printed works that expanded traditional definitions of the medium. Among his numerous publications are the catalogues raisonnés of prints by Henri Michaux and Robert Morris.

Projects 88: Lucy McKenzie

Kurator: Christophe Cherix