Rirkrit Tiravanija

Tiravanija was born in 1961, Buenos Aires. He lives and works in New York, Berlin, and Chiang Mai. Although Rirkrit Tiravanija's varied artistic output defies simple classification, he often describes it as “relational”; a body of work that focuses on real-time experiences and exchanges that break down the barriers between object and viewer, questioning the reputation of the art object as a fetish and of galleries and museums as sacred spaces. Untitled (1989) was the first work by Tiravanija to attract public attention: in a New York gallery, the various stages of preparing green curry (ingredients, cooking, waste) were displayed on pedestals. With Untitled (Free) (1992), he continued to question the possibilities and principles of exhibition space by transforming a gallery into a space for socializing and meeting where Tiravanjia cooked for visitors. In Untitled (1999), visitors could settle into an exact replica of his East Village apartment. Tiravanija describes his work as “equivalent to moving Marcel Duchamp's urinal from its pedestal, reinstalling it on a wall, and, in an act that restores its original use, urinating in it.” The artist is interested in subverting deeply rooted forms of interaction with art through new models of collaboration and exchange that minimize the object's charm, reconsider its function and life cycle, and make it accessible to the general public. Tiravanija is a Thai artist born in Argentina who lives between New York, Berlin, and Chiang Mai. His work carries the tension of his nomadic life by combining different cultural contexts. Rather than insisting on a specific reality or truth, his work creates open contexts in which people reach their own conclusions. The strength of his work lies precisely in this ephemeral and elusive quality that defies definition; Tiravanija uses everyday materials in new settings to give the viewer a perspective, both banal and profound, on the fleeting nature of life. Tiravanija studied for a bachelor's degree at the Ontario College of Art and Design (1984) and a master's degree in Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (1986). From 1985 to 1986, he was part of the Whitney Independent Study Program. He has received many awards and honors, including: Absolut Art Award 2010, Silpathorn Award from the Thai Ministry of Culture (2017), Hugo Boss Prize (2004), Lucelia Artist Award from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (2003), among others.