Alfredo Jaar studied filmmaking at the Chilean North-American Institute of Culture and Architecture at the University of Chile (1981). Subsequently, in 1982, differences with Pinochet’s regime led him to move to New York, where he has lived ever since, thanks to the Pacific Foundation Grant. He also works with videos, urban interventions and installations, but photography is his main means of expression and weapon of political dissent. Embracing critical awareness and a social role for artists, he has developed an aesthetic of resistance, reflecting on the human condition and the problems of social and geopolitical crises. In particular, he stresses the role of images in today’s society, in view of the general desensitisation resulting from media saturation, their limitations when covering great tragedies and the political control to which they are subject. One of his most outstanding works is The Rwanda Project (1994-2000), produced in protest at the lack of media cover and the silence of the international community regarding the Rwanda genocide, which led to a million deaths.
In addition to his numerous public interventions, Jaar has exhibited on the international circuit including the Venice Bienniale (1986, 2007, 2009 and 2013), São Paulo (1987, 1989 and 2010), Sydney (1990) and Documenta 8 & 12 (Kassel, Germany, 1987 & 2002). His work has also been exhibited at leading international venues such as the New Museum (New York, 1992); the Whitechapel Art Gallery (London, 1992); the Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago, USA, 1992); the Moderna Museet (Stockholm, 1994); the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma (Rome, 2005); the Hangar Bicocca (Milan, Italy, 2008); the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam, 2011). A retrospective was held at the Berlinische Galerie, the NGBK and the Alte Nationalgalerie (Berlin, 2012); and another major retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma (Helsinki, 2014) and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York, 2015).
Jaar was awarded the Guggenheim Grant in 1985 and the Chile National Award for Plastic Arts in 2013.
Alfredo Jaar studied filmmaking at the Chilean North-American Institute of Culture and Architecture at the University of Chile (1981). Subsequently, in 1982, differences with Pinochet’s regime led him to move to New York, where he has lived ever since, thanks to the Pacific Foundation Grant. He also works with videos, urban interventions and installations, but photography is his main means of expression and weapon of political dissent. Embracing critical awareness and a social role for artists, he has developed an aesthetic of resistance, reflecting on the human condition and the problems of social and geopolitical crises. In particular, he stresses the role of images in today’s society, in view of the general desensitisation resulting from media saturation, their limitations when covering great tragedies and the political control to which they are subject. One of his most outstanding works is The Rwanda Project (1994-2000), produced in protest at the lack of media cover and the silence of the international community regarding the Rwanda genocide, which led to a million deaths.
In addition to his numerous public interventions, Jaar has exhibited on the international circuit including the Venice Bienniale (1986, 2007, 2009 and 2013), São Paulo (1987, 1989 and 2010), Sydney (1990) and Documenta 8 & 12 (Kassel, Germany, 1987 & 2002). His work has also been exhibited at leading international venues such as the New Museum (New York, 1992); the Whitechapel Art Gallery (London, 1992); the Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago, USA, 1992); the Moderna Museet (Stockholm, 1994); the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma (Rome, 2005); the Hangar Bicocca (Milan, Italy, 2008); the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam, 2011). A retrospective was held at the Berlinische Galerie, the NGBK and the Alte Nationalgalerie (Berlin, 2012); and another major retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma (Helsinki, 2014) and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York, 2015).
Jaar was awarded the Guggenheim Grant in 1985 and the Chile National Award for Plastic Arts in 2013.