[FR] SWOON, alias Caledonia Curry, est née dans le Connecticut en 1977 et a grandi à Daytona Beach en Floride. Diplômée du Pratt Institute, Brooklyn (1998-2001), elle vit et travaille à Brooklyn.
Caledonia Curry est reconnue dans le monde entier pour sa vision pionnière de l’art public. À travers des portraits intimistes, des installations immersives et des projets communautaires pluriannuels, elle a passé plus de 20 ans à explorer les relations des individus avec l’environnement construit, utilisant sa pratique artistique comme catalyseur de changement social et de guérison.
Swoon est d’abord connue comme étant l’une des premières femmes street artistes à avoir obtenu une reconnaissance internationale. Cependant, sa vaste pratique ne se limite pas à ce genre. En tant que graveuse de formation classique, elle a innové dans de nouvelles approches du relief, de la sérigraphie et de la découpe de papier à grande échelle. La réflexion profonde sur la forme est indissociable de la vision de Swoon sur le rôle transformateur de l’art public dans les communautés. Son engagement critique à l’égard des questions de justice sociale et environnementale l’a placée à l’avant-plan du discours émergent sur la pratique socialement engagée. Son engagement à élargir les possibilités de l’Art pour réparer les traumatismes et favoriser la guérison personnelle et collective, continue de conduire ses contributions substantielles à l’art contemporain par l’expérimentation, avec le portrait, la sculpture, l’installation et, plus récemment, l’animation vidéo en stop-motion.
Les expositions en galerie et en musée de Swoon sont profondément influencées par son activisme et ses projets communautaires à l’extérieur des espaces d’exposition traditionnels. En 2015, elle a fondé la fondation Heliotrope pour soutenir de multiples projets collaboratifs qui utilisent l’art pour répondre aux crises. Il s’agit notamment de Konbit Shelter, un projet de construction durable mis sur pied à la suite du séisme de 2010 qui a dévasté Haïti ; Le Music Box Village, un environnement musical immersif conçu pour pallier les conséquences culturelles de l’ouragan Katrina en favorisant la collaboration entre la communauté créative de la Nouvelle-Orléans et des artistes du monde entier ; et Braddock Tiles, un lieu d’activité et un programme de préparation et de formation en compétences générales pour les jeunes de la région, qui répond au désinvestissement et à la crise économique qui sévissent depuis des décennies à Braddock, en Pennsylvanie.
Les travaux récents de Swoon sont axés spécifiquement sur la relation entre les traumatismes et la dépendance, en s’inspirant de sa propre expérience, ayant grandi dans une famille toxicomane aux opioïdes. En 2015, elle a développé The Road Home en collaboration avec Philadelphia Mural Arts et le Million Person Project pour servir une communauté ravagée par l’épidémie d’opioïdes dans le nord de Philadelphie.
Swoon a une longue expérience des projets d’envergure, avec une vision ambitieuse. Le plus remarquable d’entre eux est sûrement un ensemble de sculptures flottantes et de projets de vie expérimentaux qui a connu trois étapes, sous les noms : The Miss Rockaway Armada (Mississippi, 2006-2007); Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea (Hudson River, 2008); et Swimming Cities of Serenissima (mer Adriatique), qui s’est achevé à la Biennale d’art contemporain de Venise en 2009.
Swoon a participé à de nombreuses expositions individuelles et collectives dans de grands musées et galeries du monde entier, notamment au Museum of Modern Art et au MoMA PS1, New York ; Brooklyn Museum ; Mori Art Museum , Tokyo ; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston ; Skissernas Museum, Lund, Suède ; MIMA, Bruxelles ; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Oaxaca, Mexique. Sa première rétrospective muséale était The Canyon : 1999–2017 au Contemporary Art Center de Cincinnati. Ses œuvres sont conservées dans des collections publiques et privées, tel qu’au MoMA, Tate Modern, Detroit Institute of Arts et MASS MoCA.

[ENG] Caledonia Curry, or Swoon, is recognized around the world for her pioneering vision of public artwork. ​Through intimate portraits, immersive installations and multi-year community based projects, she has spent over 20 years exploring the relationships of individuals to the built environment, using her art as a catalyst for social change and healing.
Swoon is best known ​as one of the first women street artists to gain international recognition. However, her expansive practice defies genre. As a classically trained printmaker, she has innovated new approaches to large-scale relief, screenprint and papercutting. The deep consideration of form is inseparable from Curry’s vision of the transformative role of public art in communities. Her critical engagement with issues of social and environmental justice have positioned her at the forefront of the emergent discourse around socially-engaged practice. Her commitment to expanding the possibilities of art to repair trauma and foster personal and collective healing continues to drive her substantial contributions to contemporary art through experimentation with portraiture, sculpture, installation and most recently, stop-motion animation.
Curry’s gallery and museum exhibitions are deeply influenced by her activism and community projects outside of traditional gallery spaces. In 2015 she founded the ​Heliotrope Foundation​ to support multiple collaborative projects that use art to respond to crisis. These include ​Konbit Shelter, a sustainable building project developed in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti; ​Music Box Village​, an immersive musical environment built to and address the cultural toll of Hurricane Katrina by fostering collaborations between the New Orleans’ creative community and artists from around the world; and Braddock Tiles​, a job-readiness and soft skills training program for local youth that responds to the decades-long disinvestment and economic crisis in Braddock, Pennsylvania.
Curry’s recent work has been focused specifically on the relationship of trauma and addiction, ​drawing from her experience growing up in an opioid addicted family. In 2015, she developed ​The Road Home in collaboration with ​Philadelphia Mural Arts and the Million Person Project to serve a community ravaged by the opioid epidemic in North Philadelphia. The project included daily drop-in art therapy workshops and an ambitious advocacy component that culminated with harm-reduction workshops with the Philadelphia Department of Health and a public symposium.
Curry has a long history of executing projects of ambitious scale and vision. The most notable is a series of floating sculptures and experimental living projects that include ​The Miss Rockaway Armada (Mississippi River, 2006-2007);​​ Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea (Hudson River, 2008); and Swimming Cities of Serenissima (​Adriatic Sea), which crashed the 2009 Venice Biennale.
Curry has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in major museums and galleries around the world, including the ​Museum of Modern Art and ​MoMA PS1​, New York; the ​Brooklyn Museum​; the ​Mori Art Museum​, Tokyo, Japan; the Institute of Contemporary Ar​t, Boston; the ​Skissernas Museum​, Lund, Sweden; MIMA Contemporary Art Museum​, Brussels, Belgium; and ​Museo de Arte Contemporáneo​, Oaxaca, Mexico. Her first museum retrospective was ​The Canyon: 1999–2017 at the ​CAC Cincinnati​. Her work is held in public and private collections including the ​Museum of Modern Art​, ​Tate Modern​, the ​Detroit Institute of Arts​, and ​MASS MoCA​.

NEWS

La plus récente monographie de SWOON, “The Red Skein”, est parue en 2022 aux éditions Drago, et rassemble ses projets et ses oeuvres des 10 dernières années. Disponible sur notre shop en ligne ici.

COLLECTIONS (PUBLIC & PRIVATE)

Albright-Knox, Buffalo, New York
Artemizia Foundation, New York
Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York
Chrysler Museum of Art, Detroit
Art42 (Collection Nicolas Laugero Lasserre), Paris
Collection Bernard Magrez, Bordeaux
Deitch Projects, New York
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
Fondation Claudine & Jean-March Salomon pour l’Art Contemporain, Annecy
Goldman Properties, Miami
Jordan Schnitzer Collection
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, Massachusetts
MIMA (Millenium Iconoclast Museum of Art ), Bruxelles
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis
MUCA (Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art), Munich
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York
PS1 Contemporary Arts Center, New York
Russian Museum, St. Petersbourg
Sammlung Reinking, Hamburg
Tate Modern, Londres
The Dean Collection (Alicia Keys & Swizz Beatz), New York
Tudor Investments, New York
Urban Nation Museum, Berlin

SHOWS & RESIDENCES
2025
Boston Public Art Triennal, Boston – Outdoor public installations curated by Pedro Alonzo & Tess Lukey

2024
Chungmu Art Center, Seoul – ‘ICONS of Urban Art’ – Group show with works from the MUCA Munich collection
Galerie LJ, Paris – ‘Sybilant Sisters‘ – Solo show
Turner Carroll Gallery, Santa Fe – ‘Gift in the Rupture‘ – Solo show
Petit Palais, Paris – ‘We Are Here‘ – Group show curated by Mehdi Ben Cheikh
Art Basel, Basel – Represented by Jeffrey Deitch, curated booth ‘Live the Art’ designed by Charlap Hyman & Herrero
Praz Delavallade, Los Angeles – ‘I Never Really Knew You‘ – Group show curated by Mashonda Tifrere
Amarillo Museum of Art, Amarillo (Texas) – ‘Swoon‘ – Solo show
Mori Arts Center Gallery, Tokyo – ‘Icons of Urban Art‘ – Group show curated by the MUCA, Munich
Galerie Gerald Hartinger, Vienne  – ‘Community: A Female Street Art Exhibition’ – Group show
ShowUp, Boston – ‘Cutting Edge: Contemporary Papercutting’ – Group show curated by Rosa Leff
Rusha & Co Engine Company, Los Angeles – ‘I’d love to See You’ – Group show, commissariat : Juxtapoz Magazine/Evan Pricco

2023
Underdogs Gallery, Lisbon – ‘A Controversial Affair’ – Group show
Artemizia Foundation @Gallery 818, Bisbee (Arizona) – ‘Eudaimonia‘ – Solo show
Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami – Represented by Jeffrey Deitch Gallery
Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke (Virgnia, US) – ‘Swoon’ – Solo show
Mesa Arts Center (Arizona) – ‘Swoon: Gift in the Rupture‘ – Solo show curated by Tonya Turner Carroll
Bellevue Arts Museum, Washington – ‘Positive Fragmentation: From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer‘ – Group show
Skissernas Museum, Lund (Suède) – ‘Kom Som Du Är‘ – Group show des récentes acquisitions du musée
Cordoaria Nacional, Lisbon – ‘Urban(R)Evolution’ – Group show curated by Pedro Alonzo & Pauline Foessel
NuArt, Aberdeen (Scotland) – Urban art festival & talk with Carlo McCormick
K11 Musea, Hong Kong – ‘City as Studio‘ – Group show curated by Jeffrey Deitch
Saatchi Gallery, Londres – ‘Beyond the Streets‘ – Group show
Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke (Virgnia, US) – ‘Positive Fragmentation: From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer‘ – Group show

2022
Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami – ‘Goddesses’ – Représentée par Jeffrey Deitch Gallery
Jyväskylän Art Museum, Finland – Graphica Creativa 2022: 16th International Print Triennial –  Solo Show (Guest of Honor)
Container Turner Carroll, Santa Fe – ‘Seven Contemplations’ – Solo show
Mairie de Paris, Paris – ‘Capital(es): 60 d’art urbain à Paris‘ – Retrospective group show
MET Museum, The Mezzanine Gallery, New York – ‘Eidophones‘ (Mezzanine Print Gallery) – Solo show curated by Laura Einstein
Katzen Arts Center (American University Museum), Massachusetts – ‘Positive Fragmentation: From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation‘ – Group show curated by the National Museum of Women in the Arts, also with  Louise Bourgeois, Cecily Brown, Judy Chicago, Julie Mehretu, Sarah Morris, Wangechi Mutu, Mickalene Thomas, Kara Walker
La Condition Publique, Roubaix – ‘Urbain.es‘ – Group show curated by Magda Danysz
Extraordinary Objects Gallery, Cambridge (UK) – ‘Salute: An Exhibition Celebrating Women In The Arts’ – Group show
Eskenazi Museum of Art (Indiana University), Bloomington (IN) –  ‘Positive Fragmentation: From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation‘ – Group show curated by the National Museum of Women in the Arts
Turner Carrol Gallery, Santa Fe – ‘Women In The House’ – Group show celebrating the 50th anniversary of Judy Chicago’s Woman House

2021
Dallas Art Fair, Dallas – Represented by Turner Carroll Gallery, with Swoon’s 14-foot box truck installation The House We Built in the Klyde Warren Park, and a talk with Jed Morse, Chief Curator of the Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas
Superchief Gallery NFT, New York – Cicada & Tymbal – NFT Solo Show
Turner Carroll Gallery, Santa Fe (NM) – Wholeness In Mind – Solo show
Moberg Gallery, Des Moines (IA) – Contemporary Women Artists: Figure And Form – Group Show
Allouche Gallery, New York – The Intricate Intimate – Group show curated by Swoon, Monica Canilao and BLK PALATE
Public art in New York City – PBS ‘American Portrait’ – Installation itinérante pour le réseau de télévision publique PBS (Public Broadcast Service)
The Vitrine at Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel, Milwaukee (WI) – ‘Tender’ – Solo show curated by J. Myszka Lewis and Sona Pastel-Daneshgar for Tandem Press

2020
Albright-Knox Museum, Buffalo (NY) – Seven Contemplations – Solo show
Contemporary Craft Art Centre, Pittsburgh – The Heart Lives Through the Hands – Solo show
Galerie LJ, Paris – The Slow Reprise – Solo show
Underdogs Gallery, Lisbonne – Asteraceae – Solo show
Turner Carroll Gallery, Santa Fe – Solstice: Create Art for Earth – Group show curated by Judy Chicago
Luma, Arles, Parc des ateliers – It’s Urgent!  – Group show curated by Hans-Ulrich Obrist

2019
Deitch Projects, New York – Cicada – Solo show
Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC – Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition: The Outwin 2019 – American Portraiture Today – Group show des finalistes
IFPDA (Fine Art Print Fair), New York – commande d’une installation murale
MUCA, Munich – Time Capsule  – Solo show (rétrospective itinérante)
Fluctuart, Paris – Time Capsule – Solo show (rétrospective itinérante)
New York City – Beyond the Streets NYC – Group show
Treason Gallery, Seattle – Every Portrait Is a Vessel – Solo show
Galerie Henrik Springmann, Freiburg – ‘Swoon’ – Solo show

2018
Chandran Gallery, San Francisco – Raggedy Hecate and the Memory Box – Solo show
The New Gallery of Modern Art, Charlotte, VA – Street Space: Embracing the History of Street Art and Culture – Group show
Institut Bernard Magrez, Bordeaux – Kaleidoscope – Group show
CRUXspace, Philadelphia – Swoon: New Video Works – Group show
Alibi Gallery, Athens – Walls And Streets/NYC Meets Athens – Group show curated by Melissa McCaig-Welles
Galerie LJ, Paris – New Works – Solo show
Mori Art Museum, Tokyo – Catastrophe and The Power of Art – Group show
Snow Contemporary, Tokyo – Mirari Minima – Solo show
Beyond The Streets, Los Angeles – Group show curated by Roger Gastman, site specific installation
Mural Arts Philadelphia/Porch Light Program, avril 2018
Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Residency, mars 2018
Kate Oh Gallery, New York – Around Us – Group show curated by Pema Rinzin
The Plaxall Gallery, New York – The She Did – Group show curated by Lori Zimmer and Melissa McCaig-Welles
ArtScience Museum, Singapore – Art From The Streets – Group show

2017
Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati – ‘SWOON – The Canyon : 1999-2017‘ – Early career retrospective (22/09/17>25/02/18), curator: Steven Matijcio
MACRO, Rome – ‘Cross The Streets : 40 anni di Street Art e Writing‘ – Group show
Allouche Gallery, New York – ‘To Accompany Something Invisible‘ – Solo show
Art Central, Hong Kong – Représentée par Galerie LJ
HOCA Foundation, Hong Kong – Artist talk, workshop & public art
Skissernas Museum, Lund (Sweden) – ‘Haven‘ – Solo show

2016
Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver – ‘Juxtapoz x Superflat‘ – Group show curaté par Evan Pricco et Takashi Murakami
Library Street Collective, Detroit – ‘The Light After‘ – Solo show
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit – ‘Thalassa‘ – Installation monumentale dans le Great Hall
HG Contemporary, New York – ‘Retna, Swoon, Olek, Aiko, Pixelpancho’ – Group show
Parrish Art Museum, Hamptons – ‘Radical Seafaring‘ – Exposition collective
MIMA (Millenium Iconoclast Museum of Art), Bruxelles – ‘City Lights‘ – Exposition inaugurale avec Maya Hayuk, Faile et Momo, installation insitu
Chandran Gallery, San Francisco – ‘Witch-Wife’ – Double solo show avec Monica Canilao

2015
Moore Building, Miami Design District, Miami – ‘Unrealism‘ – Group show organisé par Larry Gagosian, curator: Jeffrey Deitch
Brooklyn Museum, New York – ‘Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland 1861-2008‘ – Group show
Rumney Guggenheim Gallery, Brooklyn – ‘Some Place Like Home‘ – Group show
Philadelphia Mural Arts Programs, Philadelphie – ‘Open Source: Engaging Audiences in Public Space‘ -Group show
Inner State Gallery, Detroit – ‘Alchemy‘ -Group show, curator: Monica Canilao
Wadsworth Museum, Hartford (Connecticut) – ‘Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland 1861-2008’ -Group show, prêt d’une acquisition de la collection du Brooklyn Museum
Urban Nation @ Project M/7, Berlin – ‘Persons of Interest‘ -Group show, curators: Jaime Rojo & Steve Harrington

2014
The Brooklyn Museum, New York – ‘Submerged Motherlands‘ – Solo show
Djerbahood, Djerba, Tunisie
Scope Art Fair, Miami – ‘The Dean Collection‘ – Group show
Nuit Blanche, Paris – Installation monumentale sur la Gare Masséna (13e)
Institut Bernard Magrez, Bordeaux – ‘Expressions urbaines‘ – Group show

2013
Galerie LJ, Paris – ‘Motherlands’- Solo show
Bowery Mural, New York – Collage en collaboration avec l’association Groundswell
Museo d’Arte Contemporaneo, Oaxaca, Mexico – ‘Hecho en Oaxaca‘ – Group show, curator: Pedro Alonzo
Fame Festival, Grottaglie, Italie – Résidence dans le cadre du festival d’art urbain, curator: Angelo Milano

2012
L’Adresse/Musée de la Poste, Paris – ‘Au delà du street art‘ – Group show
City Gallery & Municipal Library, Prague – ‘Stuck on the City‘ – Group show
Centre de la Gravure et de l’Image Imprimée, La Louvière, Belgique – ‘Vues sur murs‘ – Group show
Galleria Patricia Armocida, Milan – ‘The Folding of A Known World‘ – Exposition collaborative avec Monica Canilao & Dennis McNett
XYZ Collective, Tokyo – ‘Honeycomb’ – Solo show
2nd Ural Industrial Biennale of Contemporary Art, Ekaterinburg – Participation à la section “Special Projects”

2011
Black Rat Projects, Londres – ‘Murmuration‘ – Solo show
4th Moscow Biennale, Moscou – Section “special projects: Arthouse Squat Forum”
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston – ‘Anthropocene Extinction‘ – Installation monumentale temporaire, curator: Pedro Alonzo
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans – ‘Thalassa‘ – Installation monumentale temporaire dans le Great Hall
MOCA, Los Angeles – ‘Art in the Streets‘ – Group show rétrospectif sur les arts urbains, curator: Roger Gastman & Aaron Rose
Art Dubai, Dubai – Représentée par la Galerie L.J
Metro Gallery, Melbourne – ‘Thekla‘ – Solo show

2010
Black Rat Projects, Londres – ‘Small Acts of Resistance’ – Group show
Galerie L.J., Paris – ‘Fata Morgana‘ – Solo show
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego – ‘Viva la Revolucion‘ – Group show, curator: Pedro Alonzo
28th Biennal of Graphic Arts, Llubljana, Slovénie

2009
Space Gallery, Portland (US) – ‘Distance don’t matter’ – Exposition collaborative
Stavanger, Norvège – ‘NuArt Festival’ – Festival d’arts urbains
Urban Art Info, Berlin – ‘Squinches and pendentives’ – Exposition collaborative avec Ben Wolf
Projet “Swimming Cities of Serenissima”, Venise – Swoon amarre sa flotte de rafts à Venise lors de la Biennale
Townhouse Gallery, Le Caire – Résidence de deux mois
The Armory Show, New York – Représentée par Deitch Projects

2008
Deitch Projects, New York – ‘Swimming Cities of the Switchback Sea’ – Solo show et performance collective
Honey Space, New York – ‘Portrait of Silvia Elena’ – Installation temporaire avec Tennessee Jane Watson
The Luggage Store, San Francisco – ‘Feral’ – Exposition collaborative avec Monica Canilao
New Image Art Gallery, Los Angeles – ‘Drown your boats’ – Solo show
Kunsthalle Dominikanerkirche, Osnabrück (ALL) – ‘Fresh Air Smells Funny’ – Group show, curator: Reinkingprojekte

2007
Galerie LJ, Paris – Exposition collaborative avec Chris Stain et Mike Brodie
Black Rat Press Gallery, Londres – ‘Heap’ – Exposition collaborative avec David Ellis et Monica Canilao
MU, Eindhoven (NL) – ‘Canciones del mundo revés’ – Installation en papier découpé en collaboration avec Poncho
Museum Het Domain, Sittard (NL) -‘The Burning House‘ – Exposition collaborative avec David Ellis et Faile
New Image Art Gallery, Los Angeles – ‘The Burning House’ – Exposition collaborative avec David Ellis et Faile
Pinchuk Art Center, Kiev – ‘GENERATION.UsA’ – Group show
Santa’s Ghetto, Bethléem – Projet sur le mur de séparation initié par Banksy

2006
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead (UK) – ‘Spank the Monkey’ – Group show
Blackfloor Gallery, Philadelphia – ‘La Boca del Lobo’ – Exposition et installation en collaboration avec Alison Corrie et Solovei
Museum of Modern Art, New York – ‘Since 2000: Printmaking now’ – Group show et acquisition de 5 pièces par le musée
Espace Beaurepaire, Paris – ‘Etoiles Urbaines’ – Group show

2005
Art Basel Miami Beach, Design District – Représentée par Deitch Projects
The Armory Show, New York – ‘ESPO Bakery’ – Collaboration à l’installation d’ESPO pour Deitch Projects
Kunstraum Kreuzberg, Berlin – Festival ‘Backjumps’ – Group show
The Brooklyn Museum, New York – ‘Graffiti’ – Group show et acquisition de son installation de 18 pièces par le musée
Deitch Projects, New York – ‘Swoon’ – Solo show
MoMA P.S.1, New York – ‘Greater New York’ – Group show

2004
The Vinyl Factory, Londres – ‘Something Else’ – Group show
Urbis Art Centre, Manchester – ‘Ill Communication 2’ – Group show
DCKT Contemporary, Manhattan, New York – ‘1:100’ – Group show
Space 1026, Philadelphia – ‘Change Agent, Call it a Crew’ – Group show
Publico, Cinncinnatti – ‘Good World’ – Group show conjointement à l’exposition ‘The Beautiful Losers’ et le CAC
Roda Sten, Gothenburg – ‘Ever Wanting Streets’ – Group show

2003
Kunstraum Kreuzberg, Berlin – Festival ‘Backjumps’ – Group show

2002
Urban-Art.info, Berlin – ‘Swoon loves Solovei’ – Exposition en collaboration avec Solovei du collectif Toyshop

PRESSE

Films :
F. King, “Swoon: fearless” , 2018, (57min)
Banksy & Mr Brainwash, “Exit Thru The Gift Shop”, 2010
C. Clemente, “Our City Dreams”, 2008 (dvd)
P. Aravena, “Next. A Primer on Urban Painting”, 2006, 80min (dvd)
Rosforth, “Inside Outside”, 2006, 50min
The Barnstormers, “360”, 2005, 26min (dvd)