DUNDEE.- Thomas Hirschhorn is to present his first ever solo exhibition in a UK public art gallery at Dundee Contemporary Arts this autumn as part of the centre’s 10th anniversary programme. It’s Burning Everywhere, a new work made specially for the centre’s main gallery, runs from Saturday 19 September - Sunday 29 November. Alongside this new work Hirschhorn will also re-present Substitution 2 (The Unforgettable) and show his Ur Collages in DCA’s smaller gallery.

“My challenge as an artist is to give form to a position….to create a form that tries to touch truth”

Best known for works combining everyday materials such as cardboard, tin foil, mannequins, strip lights, clothing and parcel tape with found images and text to make reference to a philosophical, cultural or political point of view, Hirschhorn's structures and installations are almost always overwhelming. Following a visit to DCA earlier this year he is currently completing the large-scale piece conceived specifically for the main gallery space starting from the following statement.

It's burning everywhere,
It's burning far away - it's burning in my neighbourhood,
It's burning in the 'conflict zone',
my house is burning, I am burning myself,
there is no escape from it,
because I am the 'conflict zone'.

Hirschhorn has already shown work in Scotland before – notably in The Gorbals as part of the Vivre sa Vie celebration of French contemporary art - but this will be his first ever solo show, and it is a indication of the stature of DCA, which this year marks its 10th anniversary, that the exhibition should be in Dundee rather than Glasgow or Edinburgh.

Alongside the new work Hirschorn will also re-resent his 2007 piece Substitution 2 (The Unforgettable) in DCA’s smaller gallery. Described by Jonathan Jones as a “masterpiece of an installation”, the work that was originally shown at Stephen Friedman Gallery confronts the viewer with the visceral, abhorrent reality of war and destruction. Also on display at DCA will be his powerful Ur Collages which counterpoint found images from fashion with often horrific scenes of carnage from war-zones.

Hirschhorn will give an artist talk at 11am on Thursday 17 September. Using The Bijlmer Spinoza-Festival which he presented in a district of Amsterdam earlier this year as a starting point Hirschhorn will discuss his artistic practice in general including the new work It’s Burning Everywhere.

Thomas Hirschhorn
Born in Bern, Switzerland (1957), Thomas Hirschhorn is one of the foremost artists of his generation and has exhibited widely around the world. Recent solo exhibitions include: Bijlmer Spinoza Festival, Amsterdam, Das Auge , Secession, Vienna, (2008); Poor Tuning , Kurimanzutto, Mexico City, (2008); Substitution 2 , Stephen Friedman Gallery, London (2007); Jumbo Spoons and Big Cake , Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Montreal, Canada (2007); Concretion Re , Galerie Chantal Crousel,Paris, France (2007). Group exhibitions that he has participated in include Walking in My Mind , Hayward Gallery, London (2009); Unmomumental , New Museum, New York (2008); The Gold Standard , PS1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, NY (2006/2007); Biennial of Contemporary Art of Seville (BIACS 2), Seville, Spain (2006); How To Live Together , 27th Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil (2006). He has received numerous awards for his work including the Prix Marcel Duchamp, 2000/01 and the Joseph Beuys Prize in 2004.

Hirschhorn is an artist whose commitment and energy inspire fellow artists and respected outside of the art community. His recent Bijlmer Spinoza Festival in the outskirts of Amsterdam was a marathon three month community event. He is currently exhibiting in London at the Hayward Gallery as part of Walking in My Mind .