Andres Serrano (EN)

This catalogue of the Andres Serrano retrospective presents the many facets of the work of an artist from New York regarded as one of the major figures on the contemporary scene, tracing his creative trajectory in over a hundred photographs.
The question of the portrait in the exploration of signs of the times, the dead body in a classical presentation of pictorial inspiration, the abstract space of the studio and the artist’s recent immersion in the city, violence in the relationship with the other on the path from procreation to creation, poverty and its relation to place, religious feeling and the collective dynamics of the group portrait are some of the subjects Serrano constantly addresses. The questions he poses give rise to debate and sometimes violence. These freely chosen subjects are thus joined by themes imposed on the work, namely vandalism and censorship.
Four experts develop an original discourse on Serrano’s work: Nathalie Dietschy, PhD in art history at the University of Lausanne, a specialist on the figure of Christ in contemporary art; Jan Koenot, Jesuit, theologian, PhD in philosophy and specialist on contemporary art; Germano Celant, art critic and specialist on contemporary art, currently artistic director of the Prada Foundation in Milan; Quentin Bajac, curator of photography at the Musée d’Orsay and currently chief curator of photography at the MoMA in New York.

Bruxelles, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, March - August 2016

Contents

Preface
Michel Draguet

From Heaven to Hell: Andres Serrano
Germano Celant

A Controversial Artist
Quentin Bajac

From Urine to the Hammer: Andres Serrano and the Stigmata of Scandal
Nathalie Dietschy

‘Christian’ Images and Cultural Symptoms. Some Remarks on Andres Serrano’s Work
Jan Koenot

Andres Serrano’s Apartment in New York

CATALOGUE

APPENDIX