Jump to content

Ron Terada: Being There

Images

Ron Terada, See Other Side of Sign, 2006. Pigment ink print; 44 x 55 in. (111.8 x 139.7 cm)

Courtesy of Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver

Ron Terada, Untitled (Ad Painting: Acconci, Ruff, Schorr), 1994. Acrylic on linen; 24 x 36 in. (70 x 91.5 cm)

Courtesy of Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver

Ron Terada, Jack, 2010. Acrylic on canvas; 30 x 24 in. (76.2 x 61 cm). Collection of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

Courtesy of Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver

Ron Terada, You Have Left the American Sector, 2006. 3M reflective highway vinyl, extruded aluminum, galvanized steel, and wood; 120 x 120 x 16 in. (305 x 305 x 41 cm),Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal

Courtesy of Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver

Ron Terada, Stay Away from Lonely Places, 2005. White neon, Plexiglas, brushed aluminum, and steel; 33 x 125 x 11 in. (84 x 322 x 27 cm)

Courtesy of Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver

Ron Terada, You Have Left the American Sector, 2005. 3M reflective highway vinyl, extruded aluminum, galvanized steel, and wood; 120 x 120 x 16 in. (305 x 305 x 41 cm)

Courtesy of Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver

Ron Terada, Who I Think I Am, 2010. Pigment ink print; 23 ¼ x 19 ¾ in. (59 x 50 cm)

Courtesy of Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver

Ron Terada, Big Star, 2003. Neon; 23 x 18 in. (58.4 x 45.7 cm). Hart House Collection, University of Toronto. Purchased by the 2010–11 Hart House Art Committee with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts Acquisition program/Oeuvre achetée avec l'aide aux acquisitions du Conseil des Arts du Canada

Courtesy of Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver

Ron Terada, Sound­track for an exhi­bi­tion, 2010. Vinyl record; 12 x 10 in. (30 x 25 cm)

Courtesy of Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver

About

Terada does not wear his heart on his sleeve, and in his choice of media, slogans, and approaches he deflects any easy recognizability, yet slowly and carefully his work reveals a deeply human desire to communicate. This conflict is apparent in the title of the exhibition, Being There. Through these paintings, sculptures, signs, videos, and photographs he tries to impart aspects of himself, and yet nowhere is a straightforward self-portrait on offer. In classic Generation X fashion—to use the term coined by his fellow Vancouverite Douglas Coupland, an artist, theorist, and novelist—Terada's career thus far embodies Coupland's idea that “the time you feel lonely is the time you most need to be by yourself. Life's cruelest irony.” Terada has shown extensively in Canada and been included in many group shows worldwide. This is only his second solo exhibition in the United States.

This exhibition is curated by MCA James W. Alsdorf Chief Curator Michael Darling.

Installation Images

Installation view, Ron Terada: Being There, MCA Chicago, Nov 5, 2011–Jan 15, 2012

Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Ron Terada: Being There, MCA Chicago, Nov 5, 2011–Jan 15, 2012

Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Ron Terada: Being There, MCA Chicago, Nov 5, 2011–Jan 15, 2012

Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Ron Terada: Being There, MCA Chicago, Nov 5, 2011–Jan 15, 2012

Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Funding

Official Airline of the Museum of Contemporary Art