joël andrianomearisoa

serenade is not dead

12 january - 13 march 2020

Born in Antananarivo, Madagascar, in 1977, Joël Andrianomearisoa lives and works between Antananarivo and Paris. His practice explores many disciplines, from fashion to design, video to photography, scenography to architecture, and sound installations to text-based works.  For the artist “serenade is a sentimental act, but above all, an act of humanity – a way to put feelings, emotions and desires back at the center of discussion. A way to address something we have lost in our society today.” Furthermore, Andrianomearisoa’s exhibition affirms that “seduction is not dead, emotions are not dead and we are (all) still alive!” 

Serenade Is Not Dead highlights Andrianomearisoa’s architectural background through a carefully orchestrated grid presentation of his textile references to the body, serigraphic landscapes, appropriated and repackaged “sentimental products”, and sculptures offering a mini retrospective of the artist’s working methods.  Viewers will connect to the artist’s visual explorations of love and longing (or “territories of desire”) through abstraction, references to the figure, conceptual appropriation, and photography. 

Andrianomearisoa represented Madagascar in the 58th edition of La Biennale di Venezia International exhibition in 2019, and received the 2016 Arco Audemars Piguet Prize in Madrid.  He will participate in the 22nd Sydney Biennale in 2020. His work is held in numerous private and public collections, including the National Museum of African Art in Washington DC; Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, South Africa; the Studio Museum in Harlem in New York; and the Collection Revue Noire in Paris, France.

This exhibition is curated by Dallas Contemporary Senior Curator Laurie Ann Farrell. 

Joël Andrianomearisoa: Serenade Is Not Dead is supported by Nathalie Aureglia, Monaco.