Peter Halley
Green Prison, 2008
Despite the eminently formalist character of the Neo-Geo movement, in Halley's work we can remark a certain critical dimension, as well as an allusion to technology and communication networks. Thus Halley establishes a reference to space and time of our society, to the political and social landscape, and to the closed order we live in. His cool and straight forms are the plastic expression of our complex urban scenery, and of our information mechanisms through communication networks both physical and virtual.
Orange Prison, 2008
Beside the aesthetic influence implied in the contemplation of a paradigmatic city such as New York, it is considered that the writings by Michel Foucaul Surveiller et punir: Naissance de la prison (1975), Panopticon (1787) by the Bristish lawyer Jeremy Bentham and Interaction of Colour (1963) by Josef Albers have equally influenced the conformation of the artist iconography.
The exhibition draws on the museum’s own extensive collection of works by the artist—including masterpieces from across his long career—supplemented by key works from other public and private collections, and provides an extended glimpse into the prolific production of this 91-year-old painter. Featuring about ninety works—including some of the artist’s most important paintings—the exhibition will offer visitors a retrospective overview of this seminal artist’s oeuvre from the 1950s to today.
