Mike Bouchet

23 October 2010 - 30 January 2011

© Mike Bouchet / Cobra Museum 2010

MIKE BOUCHET
New Living
23 October - 30 January 2011

The Cobra Museum exhibits new work by the American artist, Mike Bouchet (b. 1970 Castro Valley, California, USA). His 'Sir Walter Scott' installation is a reworked version of the spectacular presentation that Bouchet created for the 2009 Venice Biennale. In one of the canals of the old city, the artist built a two story floating Suburban model home. Houses such as this are the dominant form of architecture in the United States, and have become increasingly popular all over the world. During the installation of the artwork titled, "Watershed", for the 53rd Venice Biennale, Bouchet's floating house, however, unexpectedly sank. This unintended happening became one of the highlights of the Biennale. At the end of the exhibition, Bouchet cut the house up with chainsaws and axes, returning the building materials into standardized dimensions. Bouchet has since reworked the segments of the house into a completely new sculpture, made up of 15 pallets of stacked building materials, arranged on carpets. With his 'actions-inspired' work, Mike Bouchet transforms the meaning of objects associated with our capitalist and hyper-individualistic society. In this context, he is interested in theoretical concepts for new, visionary approaches to living spaces and habitation. 'New Living' is the first solo exhibition in the Netherlands by this artist, who has lived in Frankfurt, Germany, since 2004. In addition to the Sir Walter Scott installation, the exhibition also includes several new works. The exhibition was previously presented at the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt.

www.cobra-museum.nl