Taryn Simon is interested in cultural and political phenomena as highlighted within various domains such as security, religion, politics, science, medicine, nature and technology. She probes the idiosyncrasies of each discipline in order to shatter the illusion of an objective image, of a reality captured raw.

The exhibition at the Jeu de Paume aims to give a comprehensive, substantial overview of her multi-faceted oeuvre, which over the past decade has gained attention for its sophistication and intelligence, notably in solo exhibitions at a number of major museums, including The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing (2013), Museum Folkwang, Essen (2013), MoMA, New York (2012), Tate Modern, London (2011), Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin (2011), Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2007), Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt (2008), Kunst-Werke Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2004), and P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, New York (2003).
Each series develops out of an extensive process of research and investigation. Ground in the conceptual, Simon’s work explores the frontier between text and image, with a controlled aesthetic approach that results in a prodigious style via photographs of a disturbing, almost supernatural grace.

In Paris, the public will have an opportunity to review such iconic series as A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters I–XVIII (2011), Contraband (2010), An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar (2007), and The Innocents (2002), as well as more recent works such as The Picture Collection (2012), Black Square (2006–2014), and Birds of the West Indies (2013–2014).
A graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, Simon received a Guggenheim Fellowship and was winner of the “Découverte” prize at the Ren­contres d’Arles in 2010. Her work was shown in the Venice Bienale in 2011 and at the Carnegie International in 2013.

Ami Barak, curator

‹ ›