Michael Rakowitz in Conversation

This interdisciplinary panel with artist Michael Rakowitz and scholars Magnus Bernhardsson, Alison Gruseke, and Kirsten Scheid explores the historical context and contemporary resonance of Rakowitz’s installation “The invisible enemy should not exist (Room Z).” This event is preceded by a reception and gallery viewing at the Williams College Museum of Art from 5 to 6 p.m. At 6 p.m., the group will walk across the street to Griffin Hall for the panel discussion.

Michael Rakowitz (b. 1973, New York) is an Iraqi-American conceptual artist who lives and works in Chicago. His work has been exhibited in venues around the globe, including dOCUMENTA (13), The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA PS1, MASS MoCA, Castello di Rivoli, the 16th Biennale of Sydney, the 10th Istanbul Biennial, Sharjah Biennial 8, Tirana Biennale, and Transmediale 05. He has had solo exhibitions at Tate Modern in London, Kunstraum Innsbruck, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. In 2019, Rakowitz will present a solo exhibition at REDCAT in Los Angeles, a major retrospective at Castello di Rivoli in Turin and at the Whitechapel Gallery in London, and will participate in the Sharjah Biennial 14. 

Rakowitz won the 2018 Fourth Plinth commission and is presenting a monumental work from “The invisible enemy should not exist” in London’s Trafalgar Square. For the inaugural FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art (2018), Rakowitz conceived a city-wide participatory project “A Color Removed,” which he conceived in response to the shooting of Tamir Rice by Cleveland police in 2014. 

More Information

Facebook