Jonas Staal

Born in: 1981
From: Zwolle, Netherlands
Lives and works: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Represented by: Laveronica
Website: http://www.jonasstaal.nl/
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_Staal

UN goals

Biography

Jonas Staal is a multidisciplinary artist working with a variety of means such as video, installation, performance, architecture, drawing and more. He defines his artistic practice at the intersection of art, democracy and propaganda, using contemporary art to create an alternative political space. His ongoing project New World Summit has traveled around different regions of the world, subsequently transforming art spaces into platforms giving voice to stateless states such as Kurdistan, the communist party of the Philippines and so forth.

Drawing on Judith Butler’s theory of assembly, Staal perceives assemblies – and by extension his performances – as galvanizing forces offering new life forms where the collective body has the ability to reshape public spaces. His talks, alternative parliaments and “experimental biospheres” propound new egalitarian political systems based on reciprocity and solidarity.

Through his political and artistic actions, Staal has come to embody Antonio Gramsci’s idea of the “organic intellectual” where thinkers represent socially excluded groups of a society. His summits, conferences and other public interventions challenge the dominant narrative bringing counterbalance and opening the discussion.

Career highlights

Solo shows

2019, Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam, Netherlands: Steve Bannon: A Propaganda Retrospective.
2018, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, Netherlands: The Museum as Parliament, New World Summit
2016, State of Concept, Athens, Greece: After Europe.
2015, Centraal Museum Utrecht, Netherlands: New World Academy
2013, Traffic, Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Jonas Staal - Art After Democratism

Group shows

2021, Centre Pompidou-Metz. Metz, France: Toi et moi, on ne vit pas sur la même planète.
2019, Kunsthaus Baselland, Basel, Switzerland: Histories of our Time
2018, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK: The Future Starts Here
2014, Bienal de Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil: 31ª São Paulo Biennial.
2012, Kochi-Muziris, India: 1st Kochi-Muziris Biennale.