Latifa Echakhch

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Born in 1974 in Morocco, currently living in Switzerland, Latifa Echakhch recently exhibited at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Tate Modern, London; Kunsthaus Zurich; MACBA in Barcelona, and the Fridericianum in Kassel. * * As Florence Derieux, director of the FRAC Champagne-Ardenne, states: “Her works are proof that art can be instrumental to exchange and social engagement without necessarily being patronizing or exploitative. While her sculptures are elegant and delicate, the visitor must nevertheless not be deceived by this sensibility when she examines subjects such as culture, geography, and personal and collective histories. She explores these systems through mundane objects, images, and ordinary situations, repositioning them in a social and political debate. The visual and conceptual power of her combination of Minimalism and Romanticism is potent but misleading. What emerges is a fundamental belief in the dignity of the subjects and what art can bring in terms of reflection, even in its most critical form. Objects that begin as banal then become messengers of emotions such as melancholy and anger, and offer a silent point of view on the failure of utopias.” * * Edited and introduced by Florence Derieux, the monograph includes two essays by GAMeC Chief Curator Alessandro Rabottini and curator and writer Ben Borthwick. * * Published with FRAC Champagne-Ardenne, Reims; Kunstverein Bielefeld; Fridericianum Kassel; and GAMeC, Bergamo.