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Dave McKenzie

DAVE MCKENZIE

AEIOU Barbara Wien 4 February–6 April 2023 Berlin
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Press Release

Galerie Barbara Wien is delighted to present the exhibition “AEIOU” by New York-based, Jamaican-born artist Dave McKenzie. McKenzie’s fourth solo show at the gallery focuses on his performative practice and video work. Over the course of the exhibition, the artist develops a new series of seven performances for the camera.

At the time of the opening, three video performances are on view at the gallery: “A”, “E”, and “I”. The remaining four works, “O”, “U”, ”&”, and “Y”, are conceived throughout the duration of the exhibition. They are first live-streamed into the gallery space from McKenzie’s studio in New York, and then added to the rotation of recordings on display, replacing the earlier performances.

In the works that comprise “AEIOU”, McKenzie performs an improvised choreography with a large sheet of glass – a balancing act, oscillating between struggle and interaction, motivated by an exhaustive determination. McKenzie develops a language in the studio space that is flexible but also has its limits, thinking through movement and touch. Aware of the restricted space, and his relation to the camera and the remote viewers, the artist understands these solitary performances as a non-traditional form of drawing and writing. The title of the exhibition, referring to the vowel letters in the Roman alphabet, is a nod to this idea: simple building blocks loosely arranged, not yet a complete sentence.

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Installation Views

E, 2023 (film still)1 of 7 video performances from "A, E, I, O, U, &, Y". Digital video, colour, sound each, duration variable, edition: 4 (+ 1 A.P.)
Installation Dave McKenzie: AEIOU, Galerie Barbara Wien, Berlin, 2023
Installation Dave McKenzie: AEIOU, Galerie Barbara Wien, Berlin, 2023
Installation Dave McKenzie: AEIOU, Galerie Barbara Wien, Berlin, 2023
Installation Dave McKenzie: AEIOU, Galerie Barbara Wien, Berlin, 2023
About the Artist

Dave McKenzie uses video, sculpture, performance, and installation to explore how public space and the private self are simultaneously alienated, connected, and restricted. At the heart of this practice lies a desire for interactions that lay bare the complications of social rules and obligations with which we navigate personal relationships. In 2004, while an artist-in-residence at The Studio Museum in Harlem, McKenzie engaged in a year-long project in which he periodically walked the streets of Harlem wearing a suit, a tie, and a William Jefferson Clinton mask. In 2007 he re-staged the performance, along with two other performances, under the title All Together Now for Performa 07, New York. He has been the recipient of numerous prizes and grants, such as the Foundation for Contemporary Arts’ grant (2018), Rome Prize for Visual Arts (2014-2015); Guna S. Mundheim Visual Arts Fellow, The American Academy in Berlin (2011); USA Rockefeller Fellow, United States Artists and the Art Matters Foundation Grant (both in 2009).

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Also Exhibiting at Barbara Wien

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Ingrid Wiener
INGRID WIENER Gobelins, Films and Dreams Barbara Wien 1 May–1 August 2026 Berlin
About the Gallery

Based in Berlin’s central Tiergarten district, Barbara Wien is an established contemporary art gallery with a focus on conceptual art. Since Barbara Wien opened her namesake gallery in 1988, it has also operated a bookshop, selling artist books that date as far back as the 1960s.

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Address
Schöneberger Ufer 65, 3rd floor
Berlin
Germany
Opening Hours
Wed – Sat 12–6pm
(1)
Berlin Schöneberger Ufer 65, 3rd floor
Barbara Wien contemporary art gallery in Berlin Germany
Barbara Wien
Schöneberger Ufer 65, 3rd floor, Berlin, Germany
+49 30 28 38 53 52
http://www.barbarawien.de

Opening hours
Wed – Sat 12–6pm
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