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Esther Shalev-Gerz, Les Inséparables, 2000-2010

Upstairs at the Jeu de Paume is a survey exhibition of Lithuanian born artist, Esther Shalev-Gerz. Unfortunately the projects on show – carried out in Germany, Sweden, France and England – are telling of the dubious nature of publicly commissioned art projects. Each project in the show deals with the appropriate themes (the holocaust, the economy, war, immigration, history) or communities but seems to lack relevance in the gallery space.

The idea of many of her public commissions seems to be to engage with the audience but the result is an absence of stylistic coherence. Participation often plays a major role in art but here the artist’s voice seems completely eclipsed. The exhibition is based almost entirely on these ”worthy” commissions, which are aesthetically dull and don’t make much sense without reading the accompanying blurb, which befuddles the art with aspirational rhetoric.

Harsh, perhaps. Go and see what you think: Esther Shalv-Gerz is on at the Jeu de Paume (Concorde) until 06/06/10

Filed under: contemporary, installation, performance, video by