Thomas Hirschhorn (Contemporary Artists)

The work of Thomas Hirshhorn (b. Bern, Switzerland, 1957), recently on view at such major international art venues as the Tate Modern (2003), Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris, 2001), and the Art Institute of Chicago (2000), are giant, labour-intensive, room-sized collages of low grade materials, that is to say, rubbish. Part-text, part-sculpture, part-junkheap, incorporating furniture, cardboard boxes, wooden frames and more, these baroque installations reflect an extraordinarily prolific imagination. Their sheer volume and the time it takes to read and see these massive, detailed installations make them unforgettable, often quite humorous experiences unlike the work of any other contemporary artist. Included in Phaidon's Fresh Cream in 2000, Thomas Hirschhorn is among the most significant artists to have emerged internationally in the 1990s. He has exhibited in the world's key art surveys (among others, Documenta 11, Kassel, 2003; and the 48th Venice Biennale, 1999) and art spaces, and was recipient of the prestigious Prix Marcel Duchamp, Paris, 2001. Thomas Hirschhorn is a Swiss-born artist who emerged in the 1990s art world, and known for his giant, labour-intensive, room-sized co