annette messager
godmother of heart
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marian goodman gallery
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Annette Messager was born in 1943 in the region of Nord Pas de Calais, now she lives in Paris.
She studied at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs in Paris from 1962 to 1966. She is already beginning to assemble her first collections of photos and clippings. His first solo exhibition took place in 1973 in Munich, then at the ARC in Paris in 1974 where she presents hrt collection of proverbs,compilation of misogynistic sentences embroidered on handkerchiefs.
By the early 1970s, the artist tries to "see if there is something to show" in the areas of women and art.She defines herself in several types of women. "Annette Messager, artist" portrays the status of womenwhile criticizing it: for 'Le repos des pensionnaires' (1971), one of his most famous works, she swaddledsparrows stuffed in knitted wool. "Annette Messager, collector" collects photographs, drawings andnewspaper clippings in scrapbooks where she evokes 'les Perversions ridicules' , 'les hommes que j'aime' or 'Mes Jalousies'. Since 1980, "Annette Messager, hawker" begins a serie of Chimères which spoke of "bodies andscenery" : photos of various body parts in close-up are diverted to form terrifying hybrid creatures. Her work mixes everyday reality and fantasy fiction. According to Marie Darrieussecq, "Annette knows that the only haunted house is the skull that we lug around everywhere on our cervical spine."
Annette Messager, was awarded the Golden Lion in 2005 at the 51st Venice Biennale for her installation'Casino'. She lives and works in Malakoff and is represented by Marian Goodman Gallery, Paris and New York.
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Main works and exhibits
Le Repos des pensionnaires (1971)
Annette Messager collectionneuse (1974, Paris, ARC)
Les Pièges à chimère (1984, Paris, musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris)
Comédié-tragédie (1989, Grenoble, musée)
Faire parade (1995, Paris, ARC ; Los Angeles County Museum ; Chicago Art Institute)
Sous vent (2004, Paris, ARC)
Casino (2005, Biennale de Venise)
