Biography

Artist and filmmaker Jon Rafman explores the paradoxes of modernity in his sculpture, videos and installations. At once a celebration and a critique of present-day experience, his work highlights how our technical instruments and other forms of mediation can estrange us from ourselves.

Rafman’s recent solo exhibitions include The Mental Traveller, Fondazione Modena Arti Visive, Italy (2018); Dream Journal ‘16 – ‘17, Sprueth Magers Berlin (2017) and I have ten thousand compound eyes and each is named suffering, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2016). His work has been shown in group exhibitions at ICA Boston (2018); Haus Der Kunst, Munich (2018); Sharjah Biennial 13 (2017); K11 Art Foundation, Shanghai (2017); Kiasma Museum, Helsinki (2017); International Center of Photography, New York (2014) and Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing (2014), among others. His work has been acquired by a number of public collections, including the Dallas Art Museum; J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles; MACRO, Rome; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Musée des beaux‐arts de Montréal; Musée d’art Contemporain de Montréal and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.

Rafman was shortlisted for the Sobey Award (2015, 2018) and received the Media Arts Grant, Canada Council for the Arts (2012); Filmmaker’s Assistance Program Grant, National Film Board of Canada (2010) and Research & Creation Grant, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (2008).

He holds a BA in Philosophy and Literature from McGill University, Montreal (2004) and an MFA in Film, Video and New Media from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2008). He was born in 1981 in Montreal, where he continues to live and work.

SAF participation:
Art in The Age of Anxiety (2020)

Sharjah Biennials 14 and 13


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