Harmony Korine’s First U.S. Museum Show Is ‘Perfect Nonsense’
An ode the American coming of age at ICA Miami.
Summary
- ICA Miami will present Perfect Nonsense by director and artist Harmony Korine
- Opening April 15, the exhibition marks Korine’s U.S. museum debut
- The show features over 50 works created throughout his life, including paintings, drawings, photographs, zines, collages, films and notes
Director, artist and EDGLRD ringleader, Harmony Korine, is set to open his first U.S. museum survey next week at ICA Miami. With over 50 works in tow, the exhibition will “trace the full arc of [his] career,” spanning pre-Gummo works to recent projects.
The show’s title, Perfect Nonsense, reflects the irreverent, almost acidic air that’s surrounded Korine throughout all of his artistic chapters. Structured as a series of thematic encounters, the survey brings life to his enduring curiosity with outsider narratives, social criticism, hedonism, celebrity, authenticity and the peculiarities of American teenage life.
The exhibition starts in 1997 with collages, paintings and handwritten notes created on the heels of Kids (1995). Themes and motifs during this era would later give rise to deeper explorations of aggressions and subcultural aesthetics, as seen his 2009 VHS-shot, black comedy Trash Humpers and the “Shadow Fux” paintings created with artist Rita Ackerman, also on view.
Subsequent sections include “Twitchy” paintings — ghostly forms that blend low-resolution iPhone captures with traditional painting techniques — and a dedicated “Florida Room,” which examines the changes in the Miami artscape, where he now resides, compared against the gothic fabric of the American South. Additional photographs, zines and drawings are peppered throughout.
Aggro Dr1ft, Korine’s infrared “post-cinema” project starring Travis Scott, closes out the exhibition, gesturing towards more recent moves in gaming culture and virtual spaces.
Perfect Nonsense will be on view at ICA Miami from April 15 through October 4. Head to ICA Miami’s website for more information.
ICA Miami
61 NE 41st St,
Miami, FL 33137
