Tony Cokes .:. Let Yourself Be Free | Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein

Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein has invited artist Tony Cokes (b. 1956, Richmond, Virginia, US) to engage in a dialogue with its collection, resulting in the solo exhibition Let Yourself Be Free. This revealing show presents a number of the artist’s light boxes, text and video installations, together with a new commission and works by several artists in the collection.

The [Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein] collection was particularly inspiring to me. I always say it’s pop, minimalism, and conceptualism that are the three pillars on which I can base my practice, such as it is.

Tony Cokes

A defining feature of the exhibition, and central to Cokes’ practice, is the principle of (unexpected) juxtaposition, remix and reinterpretation.

Cokes is best known for his now-signature videos, which combine quotes from a range of texts with brightly coloured backgrounds and music, creating sequences that encourage viewers to rethink how images and sounds shape our understanding of politics, culture and power. He describes himself as a ‘post-conceptual’ artist, stressing that his practice is less about producing images and more about examining our relationship to them. Like a DJ, he samples and remixes fragments drawn from popular culture and mass media with the aim of subverting dominant codes. Since the late 1980s, Cokes has critiqued media and power relations, racism and consumer behaviour. His sources include, but are not limited to, social media, found footage, journalistic texts and philosophical writings.

The exhibition at Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein ties in with Cokes’ recently increasing focus on the history and reception of conceptual art and minimalism: he presents exclusively works from his oeuvre that engage with personalities and themes from the fields of visual art and music. Cokes combines them with works by Nazgol Ansarinia, Bill Bollinger, James Lee Byars, Dan Flavin, Dan Graham, Anne Marie Jehle, Donald Judd, Gary Kuehn, Allan McCollum, Liliana Moro, Cady Noland, Steven Parrino, Pope.L, Fred Sandback, Richard Serra and Andy Warhol. The artist chose the works himself. The structure of Let Yourself Be Free is informed by Tony Cokes’s oeuvre and method. At the same time, the exhibition raises questions related to curating and what it means for artists to act as curators.

A production of Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, curated by Letizia Ragaglia in close collaboration with the artist.

Publication

A publication will accompany the exhibition, featuring installation views, essays by Jordan Carter and Christoph Cox and an interview with Tony Cokes conducted by Letizia Ragaglia.