UGO RONDINONE, 1998

1998, 1998

In the midst of the AIDS crisis, Western society became fearful and homophobic. Ugo Rondinone wanted to react to this new wave, which pushed homosexuals back into the closet and ostracized them, by creating a realistic character confronted with this crisis. Between 1992 and 1998, he wrote and drew five diaries, fictions of a gay artist and drug addict living in Zurich, named Ugo.

For the Biennale Son, the 1998 audio version is accompanied by a new edition of that year's diary, co-published by Biennale Son and KaPa Books.

Ugo Rondinone (b. 1964, based in New York) established himself as a major figure in international contemporary art in the 1990s. His multi-faceted work employs a variety of materials, including lead, wood, wax, bronze, stained glass, ink, paint, earth and stone. His work explores the links between nature, spirituality and the human condition, often with a minimalist, symbolic aesthetic. He is particularly renowned for his totems of stacked stones in fluorescent colors, such as Seven Magic Mountains (2016-2021) in the Nevada desert. He has also curated exhibitions such as I ♥ John Giorno (2015), a tribute to his companion, the American poet John Giorno.