Rodney Graham

Rodney Graham (1949, Abbotsford – 2022, Vancouver) is one of the most important conceptual artists of his generation and has been part of our gallery since 1985. In 1997, he represented Canada at the 47th Venice Biennale and, together with Jeff Wall and Stan Douglas, is one of the best-known representatives of the Vancouver School. Rodney Graham's artistic work is characterized by a complex combination of narrative, self-reflective, and humorous elements. In his works, the artist regularly takes on different roles based on references from literature, music, film, history, and art-historical contexts. His work navigates the tension between conceptual rigor and poetic playfulness. A characteristic feature is the deliberate linking of real-world observations with theatrically staged pictorial spaces. Graham made use of a variety of artistic forms of expression, including painting, sculpture, installation, video, and music. Particularly noteworthy are his large-format photographic lightboxes, in which he took on all functions of image production himself—from directing and camera work to sound editing—while also staging himself in various fictional roles. Many of his works are based on an underlying absurdity in which the characters depicted appear trapped in endless, cyclically structured narratives. Despite the often humorous surface, an underlying melancholy remains palpable, complemented by subtle irony and strikingly precise formal execution. 

Rodney Graham's works are included in prestigious collections around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago; MoMA, New York City; Glenstone Museum, Potomac; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Pinault Collection, Paris; MUDAM Luxembourg; Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid; La Colleccion Jumex, Mexico City; Musée d'art contemporain, Montréal; Rennie Collection, Vancouver; Tate Modern, London; K20/K21, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein Westfalen, Düsseldorf; Pinakotheken, Munich, Germany; Städel Museum, Frankfurt; Sammlung Goetz, Munich; Nationalgalerie - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.