TOKYO .- Prada opens today the exhibition “Dara Birnbaum” organized with the support of Fondazione Prada, at Prada Aoyama Tokyo until 28 August 2023. The fifth floor of the building designed by Herzog & de Meuron hosts a solo show dedicated to the work of Dara Birnbaum in conjunction with her extensive exhibition on view at Osservatorio Fondazione Prada in Milan until 25 September 2023.

Curated by Barbara London, with Valentino Catricalà and Eva Fabbris, the Tokyo exhibition gathers a total of four works realized from 1979 to 2011. Prominent are the video installations Kiss the Girls: Make Them Cry and Arabesque. Specially orchestrated sound works by Birnbaum, in collaboration with contemporary musicians and composers, are accompanied by still video imagery newly created for this exhibition. These works, Bruckner: Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat dur and New Music Shorts, are shown separately in the two isolated seating areas adjoining the rest of the exhibition.

Connected by strong audio and musical components, these works reveal Birnbaum’s interests in both classically-based and pop contemporary music. In addition, the works highlight her critical stance not only in relation to television and YouTube imagery, but also the varied interpretations by distinct conductors of historically important classical music compositions, along with penetrating insight into the representation of women in both high and low culture.

Throughout her distinguished career, Dara Birnbaum (New York, 1946) has consistently challenged the precepts of art and mass media by deeply exploring the cultural intersections of video art, television, music, and ever-expanding communication technologies. As stated by Barbara London, “Dara Birnbaum is an inspiring innovator, whose work retains its currency. Today she continues to collaborate with talented editors and composers, as she refines the process of her masterful practice. As an artist who has laid the groundwork for emerging media art that will appear around the corner, Birnbaum continues to stay several steps ahead.”