Jonathan Monk

British artist Jonathan Monk (born in Leicester in 1969, now lives and works in Berlin and Rome) has a BFA from Leicester Polytechnic (1988) and an MFA from Glasgow School of Art (1991). His work replays, revises and re-examines seminal works of Conceptual and Minimal art by variously witty, ingenious and irreverent means. Through wall paintings, monochromes, ephemeral sculpture and photography, Monk reflects on the tendency of contemporary art to devour references–simultaneously paying homage to figures such as Sol LeWitt, Ed Ruscha, Bruce Nauman and Lawrence Weiner–while demystifying the creative process and constantly asking ‘what next?’ For example, his stainless steel series entitled Deflated Sculpture (2009) refigures Jeff Koon’s iconic balloon rabbit in various stages of collapse; letting the air out isn’t an act of iconoclasm so much as giving the original idea new life.

Recent solo exhibitions include The Gallery at De Montford University Leicester, England (2017), Kunsthaus Baselland, Basel/Muttenz, Switzerland (2016), Centro De Arte Contemporaneo, Malaga (2013), Kunstraum Dornbirn, Austria (2013), Palais de Tokyo and Musee d’Art Moderne, Paris (2008), Kunstverein Hannover (2006), Institute of Contemporary Art, London (2005), and Museum Kunst Palast, Dusseldorf (2003). His work has been in many group exhibitions, including The Transported Man, MSU Broad, Michigan State University, USA (2017), Manifesta 11, Zurich, Switzerland (2016), More Konzeption Conception Now, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany (2015), the 50th and 53rd Venice Biennales (2003, 2009), and Taipei Biennial (2000). He was awarded the Prix du Quartier Des Bains, Geneva in 2012. [Source: VOX, 2017]