Jimmie Durham

Jimmie Durham is an American-born sculptor, performance artist, essayist and poet. He graduated from the École des Beaux Arts, University of Geneva (1972), and co-founded Adept, a minority artists' centre in Houston. Over the years Durham's art has radically challenged conventional representations of North American Indians. Common themes include the relationship between architecture, monumentality and national narratives. His anti-architectural sculptures, performances and videos seek to...See more

Jimmie Durham is an American-born sculptor, performance artist, essayist and poet. He graduated from the École des Beaux Arts, University of Geneva (1972), and co-founded Adept, a minority artists' centre in Houston. Over the years Durham's art has radically challenged conventional representations of North American Indians. Common themes include the relationship between architecture, monumentality and national narratives. His anti-architectural sculptures, performances and videos seek to liberate architecture's privileged material, stone, from its metaphorical associations with monumentality, stability and permanence. Durham has exhibited widely, including at the Whitney Biennial (2006), New York; Documenta 9 (1992), Kassel; Museum of Modern Art, Antwerp; and the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels. He has published a number of essays in books and periodicals, including Art Forum, Art Journal (CAA) and Third Text. Collections of his essays and poetry have been published as A Certain Lack of Coherence (1993), and Columbus Day (1988). See less