Lot 7: FOLKERT DE JONG

FOLKERT DE JONG DUTCH B. 1972 HEAD OF A SALTIMBANQUE 2009 styrofoam, pigmented polyurethane foam and wood 66 x 30 x 30 cm / 25.98 x 11.81 x 11.81"

Some recent solo exhibitions
17th Biennale of Sydney, Museum of Contemporary Art, 2010
Groninger Museum, 2009, 'Circle of Trust. Selected Works 2001-2009'
James Cohan Gallery, New York 2007, 'Les Saltimbanques'
Lever House, New York 2006, 'Gott Mit Uns (in God we trust)'
Chisenhale Gallery, London 2005, 'Medusa's first move: the council'

Some recent group exhibitions
Metis-nl, Amsterdam 2009, 'Higher Ground'
Neon Parc, Melbourne 2008, 'Double Diplomacy' (with Fendry Ekel)
Mary Boone Gallery, New York 2006

Selected publications
S.van der Zijpp [et al.], Folkert de Jong: Circle of Trust, selected works 2001-2009, Amsterdam: Black Cat Publishing; Groninger Museum 2009
Kitty Zijlmans [et al.], Folkert de Jong: Gott Mit Uns, Amsterdam: Black Cat Publishing 2007
Astrid Honold (ed.), Folkert de Jong: Les Saltimbanques, Amsterdam: Black Cat Publishing/
New York: James Cohan Gallery 2007

Selected public and corporate collections
Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague, NL • Groninger Museum, NL • Museum Het Domein, Sittard, NL • Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montreal, CA • The Saatchi Collection, London, UK • The Margulies Collection, Miami, US

donated by OFFICE For Contemporary Art / Folkert de Jong

Folkert de Jong reinvents monuments and classical figurative sculpture by combining fictional and factual histories into life-sized sculptural tableaux. His sculptures are made from unconventional, industrial insulation materials – styrofoam and polyurethane foam – whose color palette of baby blue and pink and their coherent toxicity are what he refers to as, 'one big moral contradiction'. Best known for work that employs the vehicle of the 'grotesque', De Jong reflects upon the paradox of contemporary life where advances in global policy, economics, science and art exist alongside the continuous forces of war, misfortune and catastrophe. While his characters often embody the darkest side of the historical and contemporary geo-political terrain, they nevertheless maintain an underlying humor and humanism. As Prof. Dr. Kitty Zijlmans describes in an essay: 'it attracts and repels you; it is horrifying and humorous, melodramatic and macabre, caricatural and confrontational. And all at once.'

Folkert de Jong was resident artist at the Rijksakademie in 1998-1999. He won the Charlotte Köhlerprijs (NL) in 2002, the basic prize of the 2003 Prix de Rome (NL) and the Thieme Art Award (NL) in 2004.

www.folkertdejong.com