Retrospective by Xavier Le Roy

MoMA PS1 presents Retrospective, the inaugural American museum survey of French artist and choreographer Xavier Le Roy (b. 1963). Realized in the galleries by a team of performers who continuously recycle and transform Le Roy’s solo work, conceived between 1994 and 2010, the exhibition opens up expanded opportunities for interaction within the museum. In his reconfiguration of the conventionally linear form of the retrospective as an accumulative mid-career survey, Le Roy brings his past works to life by consolidating and reimagining them into a new whole. In the process the exhibition unfolds across several different time axes that introduce temporal complexity to the galleries. The result is a groundbreaking hybrid of choreography and visual art that transforms the traditional exhibition format into a creative medium. “In Retrospective, Le Roy uses the tools he has as a choreographer to create possibilities for new experiences in the galleries. The exhibition is the natural evolution of our extensive initiatives bringing live art to the forefront of MoMA PS1’s diverse programming,” notes Jenny Schlenzka, Associate Curator, MoMA PS1. Retrospective is organized at MoMA PS1 by Jenny Schlenzka, Associate Curator and Alex Sloane, Curatorial Assistant. The exhibition was originally organized by the Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona at the invitation of Laurence Rassel, Artistic Director, Fundació Antoni Tàpies. Retrospective is presented at MoMA PS1 as part of Crossing the Line 2014, a festival created and organized by the French Institute Alliance Française.  Crossing the Line is the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF)’s annual fall festival presenting interdisciplinary works and performances created by artists from around the world in New York. The festival provides opportunities for New Yorkers to explore the dialogue between artist and participant, examine how artists help re-imagine the world, and engage in the vital role artists play as critical thinkers and catalysts for social evolution. Crossing the Line is initiated and produced by FIAF in partnership with leading cultural institutions and takes place this year from September 8–October 18, 2014.  The presentation at MoMA PS1 is made possible by MoMA’s Wallis Annenberg Fund for Innovation in Contemporary Art through the Annenberg Foundation. Additional support is provided by the MoMA PS1 Annual Exhibition Fund, and the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF).