Tarek Atoui

This exhibition is Tarek Atoui’s first solo show in Italy, bringing together exist­ing works and new productions commissioned by Pirelli HangarBicocca in an original composition conceived specifically for its audience and space.

Tarek Atoui, Portrait. Photo Locus Athens

Tarek Atoui (Beirut, Lebanon, 1980; lives and works in Paris) is an artist and electroacous­tic composer who explores the medium of sound and how it shapes perception through dynamic installations, experimental acous­tic environments, and collaborative perfor­mances.

Atoui collaborates with compos­ers and craftsmen from various countries to invent hybrid instruments with a strong sculptural quality. Bringing together a wide range of materials and knowledge, he tests the acoustic properties and unique ways in which elements such as bronze, water, glass, and stone transmit and reflect sound. Us­ing custom-built electronic instruments and computers, the artist references current social and political realities, revealing music and new technologies as powerful aspects of expression and identity. Education and social connection are integral aspects of the artist’s practice, who often collaborates with various local communities and invites visitors to interact and experience his multi-sensory environments.

Tarek Atoui, Performance, The Reverse Collection, Tate Modern, London, 2016. Courtesy the artist; Tate Modern, © Thierry Bal

Com­bining visual, tactile and acoustic realms, the exhibition will incorporate mul­tiple sonic dimensions, activating both the forms and the sound of the works in the former industrial space of Pirelli HangarBicocca. The experience will be the result of the accumulation of iterations of previous projects, along with new productions that will simultaneously transform the environment into an exhibition and composition space, where visitors themselves can resonate har­moniously with the installations.

Taarek Atoui has exhibited at numerous major institutions such as Kunsthaus, Bregenz, Austria, S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium (forth­coming, 2024); Art Sonje Center, Seoul, Museum of Contempo­rary Art MCA, Sydney, iac-institut d’art contemporain, Villeur­banne (2023); The Contemporary Austin, Texas, the FLAG Art Foundation, New York (2022); Fridericianum, Kassel (2020) Mu­seo Serralves, Porto, MUDAM, Luxembourg (2022); NTU Cen­tre for Contemporary Art Singapore, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels (2017); Bergen Assembly (2016); Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (2015); Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (2014 and 2015).

He has also presented his performances at renowned institutions such as Sharjah Art Foundation (2020); Palazzo Grassi – Pun­ta della Dogana – Pinault Foundation, Venice (2019); Para Site, Hong Kong, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Castello di Rivoli, Tu­rin (2017); Tate Modern, London (2016); Serpentine Gallery, Lon­don (2012); Performa 11, New York (2011).

Important group exhibitions also include the Taipei Biennial (2023); Istanbul Biennial (2022); Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection, Paris, Gwangju Biennial (2021); the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Venice Biennial (2019); Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (2019); Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow (2018); Fondazione Prada, Ca’ Corner della Regina, Venice (2014); doc­umenta, Kassel (2012); New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, the Mediacity Biennial, Seoul, Haus Der Kunst, Munich (2010); Sharjah Biennial (2009).

For more information please visit the website.