sean slemon

sean slemon, south african artist writing from NYC

Sean Slemon’s work attempts to interrogate our relationship to the spaces we inhabit, and the land we posses. Mostly in the form of sculpture or installation, but often supplemented by drawings and etchings, he asks viewers to explore these as politically charged concepts. Sean believes that space and land create meaning, uncover history, facilitate change and transformation, and provide opportunities for power.

As a young man growing up in South Africa, Sean always understood that provocative discourses surrounding space and land can lay bare turbulent histories or lead to contemporary legacies of disparity. He pushes the physicality of his work to change the space it inhabits, for an experiential impact on its viewers, and in order to accent this reality.

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, 1978, Sean Slemon currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, where he is completing a Masters degree in Fine Art at Pratt Institute. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Cape Town in 2001. Directly after this, he was awarded a commission for the first Spier Biennial (Head-2001).

Sean has been working in the capacity of project manager and exhibitions manager over the past three years on various projects in Johannesburg, namely the recently opened Constitution Hill Museum and also the New Northern Cape Legislature Buildings in Kimberley, South Africa.

He has recently produced two large-scale exhibitions in Johannesburg, Uplift: The Mountain Premises, and Joburg One to Eleven. Sean was awarded the Sasol New Signatures Award of 2005 for his work titled Maquette (The Mountain Premises), a laser cut steel sculpture, part of the Uplift exhibition.

Recent work can be viewed on the following link:
www.onair.co.za/thepremises

Solo Exhibitions
Joburg One to Eleven, The Premises Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa, August 2005
Uplift: The Premises Mountain , The Premises Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa, June 2005
The Mountain and The City, Outlet Gallery, Pretoria, South Africa, March 2005

Upcoming exhibitions:
David Krut Projects
526 West 26th Street, No 816
www.davidkrut.com
Opens November 10th 2005