Tino Sehgal

The Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) and Galerie de l’UQAM are joining forces to present This situation, an emblematic work by Tino Sehgal, from February 14 to March 29, 2025, at Galerie de l’UQAM. Acquired by the MAC in 2011, This situation, which has no physical form and cannot be accompanied by any descriptive literature, was first presented at the MAC during an exhibition dedicated to the artist in 2013. More than 10 years later, the work continues its unique process of transmission and oral conservation through this joint exhibition.

Organized by Mark Lanctôt, curator of the collection at the MAC, This situation uses the trope of the tableau vivant, or living picture, to call into question the traditional relationship between the public and the perception of what a contemporary art exhibition should be. The audience, seen as an integral part of the work, can influence its progress: everyone is invited to exchange on a range of concepts and to engage in a conversation leading to critical reflection on the current world.

The fundamental immateriality of Sehgal’s work stems in part from a perspective of sustainable development, which translates to a desire to avoid the production of commodities, to resist the excessive proliferation of goods in the world, and to reduce the ecological footprint of the art world as much as possible.

Quotes

“The MAC is very pleased to collaborate with Galerie de l’UQAM for this unique exhibition. Focused on young people, our museum offers artists privileged contact with them. I am therefore delighted that we can offer new generations of contemporary art lovers a unique opportunity to discover and experience a work by Tino Sehgal here in Montreal.” − Stéphan La Roche, Director of the MAC

“The university gallery is a space that is conducive to the transmission and acquisition of knowledge in art and the exciting exercise of thought in action. By entrusting us with the work This situation, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal is providing our audiences, particularly students of visual and media arts, art history, and museology, with a unique experience. I am particularly motivated by the idea that this work by Tino Sehgal raises—in a gesture of sharing between the Museum and the Gallery which I applaud—very current concerns that cannot fail to mark the imagination of those who are concerned about the future of humanity, the role of the artist, and the state of the world today.” – Louise Déry, Director of the Galerie de l’UQAM

“A major work in the MAC’s collection, This situation needs, given its fundamentally immaterial nature, to be presented regularly in order to ensure its preservation. Moreover, in the current context in which discourse has become set and a feeling of helplessness seems to have taken root, offering the public the opportunity to enter into a one-on-one relationship with a work through conversation becomes particularly relevant. In this way, the MAC continues to play its role as an institution engaged in the most innovative and stimulating practices in the field of contemporary art.” – Mark Lanctôt, exhibition curator

About the artist

Living and working in Berlin, Tino Sehgal has been presenting works he calls “constructed situations” for more than 20 years in various exhibition venues around the world, including the Tate Modern in London, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Tai Kwun Contemporary in Hong Kong, the KYOCERA Art Museum in Kyoto, the Bourse de Commerce in Paris, and the Fondation Beyeler in Basel. The conceptual character of Sehgal’s practice stems from a reflection on what constitutes a work of art and a crystallization of the experience of art that, for the artist, results in a direct interaction between the audience and the performers in carefully choreographed situations.

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