Lot 184: Adel Abdessemed (b. 1971)

Adel Abdessemed (b. 1971)
Exit
neon
3 7/8 x 12 3/8 x 4¾in. (9.9 x 31.5 x 12cm.)
Executed in 1996, this work is from a series of eleven varients, each unique in size and colours

Douai, La Maison, Carte Blanche, 1997 (ilustrated in colour, unpaged).
Venice, 52nd Venice Biennale, Think with the Senses -- Feel with the Mind, June-November 2007.

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner in 1996.

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In 1994, Adel Abdessemed moved from Algeria to France and immediately inscribed himself at the Beaux-Arts in Lyon. Running away because of the political and religious violence in his homeland, the young and penniless artist has lived in a form of political exile in France, and this experience has infused his work. Adel conceived Exil during the last years of his studies, using the model of a standard emergency exit sign. A deceptively simple play on words, Exil carries references to the failure of host countries either to welcome or to assimilate immigrants, as well as to the hardships and depravations of displacement and exile. The work of Adel Abdessemed brings to mind the feelings of isolation, exclusion and injustice with which the word is often associated.



Please note that the door in the catalogue image does not accompany the work.