Backless Blackness (Chanel), 2008

Jonathan Seliger  

Jonathan Seliger is an American artist born in 1955 in New York. In 1978, he obtained a Barchelor in Fine Arts from the SUNY Binghamton in New York.

Jonathan Seliger gets his visual vocabulary from contemporary and historical events of the Twentienth century art. His use of the language, the name of his pieces and of the events for example, add other dimension to his work: a humorous element or social criticism.

His sculptures and neo-pop installations provide the viewers with a re-contextualization of familiar objects, dailylife, like shopping bags recognizable by their brand.
His art, only handmade, manages to create an illusion of being mass produced, while giving an echo of consumerism in the traditionally rare environment of galleries and museums of fine arts.
The often unpredictable nature of his work gives a false idea of the meticulous and very detailed technical approach of the sculptor to his creations.

His first solo exhibition was in 1993. Jonathan Seliger exhibited his work at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, Aldrich Museum, Ridgefield, CT, Tang Teaching Museum and at the Art Gallery in Saratoga Springs, NY, and in many other museums and galleries throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. His works are part of important collections such that at MOMA, at the Whitney Museum of American Art, at the Brooklyn Museum,at the Panza Collection, Shop 3, the Weatherspoon Art Gallery and the Walker Art Center, among others.