The Victoria Miro Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of photographs by Isaac Julien which were made in collaboration with Hare and Hound Press during Julien’s recent residency at ArtPace in Texas. His film installation, The Long Road to Mazatlan - another collaboration with acclaimed dancer and choreographer Javier de Frutos, was commissioned by ArtPace and Grand Arts Kansas City and the photographs - After Mazatlan, quote directly from the same visual sources. Both draw on the mythologies of the frontier culture of the American West and in particular, the loaded iconographies of the Cowboy, here imbued with a homoerotic quality redolent of Andy Warhol’s Lonesome Cowboys, while also referencing the work of Martin Scorcese and David Hockney and continuing, as with Julien’s earlier film work, to subvert preconceptions of race and sexuality.
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News story
Posted
29 March 2019
Artforum reports on Isaac Julien’s appointment to the faculty of the University of California, Santa Cruz
Julien and independent curator and writer Mark Nash will work together on developing the Isaac Julien Lab at the UC Santa Cruz campus, which will provide students with the opportunity to assist Julien with project research and the production of moving-image and photographic works. Artforum -
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Exhibition
Posted
25 March 2019
Isaac Julien: Playtime, coming to LACMA in May
Marking the artist’s first major presentation in Los Angeles, Playtime (5 May–11 August 2019) is a captivating critique of the influence of capital in the art world. Los Angeles, California -
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Exhibition
Posted
3 March 2019
Now open at Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, the world premiere of Isaac Julien’s Lessons of the Hour – Frederick Douglass
Lessons of the Hour (3 March–12 May 2019) is a meditation on the life, words, and actions of Frederick Douglass (1818–1895), the visionary African American abolitionist and freed slave, and on the issues of social justice that shaped his life’s work. Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, New York -
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Exhibition
Posted
26 February 2019
Isaac Julien: Looking for Langston at the Linda Pace Foundation – Ruby City
Central to the exhibition (28 February–11 August 2019) is Julien’s seminal 1989 documentary-drama Looking for Langston. Also on display are two recently acquired photographic works from the Looking for Langston series, which illuminate the multilayered narratives present throughout Julien’s oeuvre. Ruby City, San Antonio, Texas -
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News
Posted
5 February 2019
Isaac Julien’s The Attendant at the Berlinale Film Festival
Julien's 1993 film is screened twice during The Berlinale (7–17 February 2019). In addition, the artist takes part in the Queer Academy Summit 2019 on 13 February. Berlin -
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Exhibition
Posted
23 January 2019
Isaac Julien: The Leopard at Block Museum of Art
A presentation (26 January–14 April 2019) of Julien’s groundbreaking 2007 video installation The Leopard (Western Union: Small Boats) – a lyrical and visceral meditation on histories of African migration. Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Chicago -
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Exhibition
Posted
16 January 2019
Black Refractions: Highlights from the Studio Museum in Harlem at the Museum of the African Diaspora
This major traveling exhibition (16 January–14 April 2019) features works by Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Isaac Julien, Wangechi Mutu, Chris Ofili and Howardena Pindell. Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, California -
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Exhibition
Posted
22 November 2018
Michael Jackson: On the Wall, featuring Isaac Julien and Grayson Perry, travels to the Grand Palais, Paris
Travelling from the National Portrait Gallery, London, the exhibition (23 November 2018–14 February 2019) explores the influence of Michael Jackson on some of the leading names in contemporary art. Grand Palais, Paris -
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Exhibition
Posted
26 August 2018
Isaac Julien is featured in Strata – Rock – Dust – Stars at York Art Gallery
The exhibition (28 September–25 November 2018), which showcases groundbreaking moving image, new media and interactive artwork, is inspired by William Smith’s geological map of 1815, which was key in the development of Geology as a science and transformed the way in which we understand the world. York Art Gallery -
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Exhibition
Posted
24 May 2018
Isaac Julien in Höhenrausch 2018
Water is the theme of Höhenrausch 2018 (24 May–14 October 2018), which features work by more than 40 international artists, including The Leopard (Western Untion: Small Boats), 2007, by Isaac Julien. Linz, Austria -
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Exhibition
Posted
30 March 2018
Isaac Julien: Ten Thousand Waves at The Whitworth
Ten Thousand Waves (on display 30 March–28 August 2018) is the most recent in a series of major moving image acquisitions by the Whitworth, and was supported through Art Fund’s Moving Image Fund. The Whitworth, Manchester -
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Exhibition
Posted
3 March 2018
Isaac Julien’s Ten Thousand Waves in The Rebellion of Moving Image at MOCA Taipei
The nine-screen installation of Ten Thousand Waves continues its world tour as part of the exhibition (3 March – 6 May 2018), curated by Huang Hsiang-Ning. MOCA Taipei, Taiwan -
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Interview
Posted
17 February 2018
Isaac Julien talks to the Guardian about Looking for Langston, being shown in Sydney as part of the 40th Mardi Gras
‘It’s another watershed moment for the history of queer rights…’ Glenn Dunks, The Guardian -
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News story
Posted
9 February 2018
Isaac Julien is elected as a Royal Academician
The Royal Academy of Arts has elected Isaac Julien as a Royal Academician, following a recent General Assembly. -
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Exhibition
Posted
6 February 2018
Work by Isaac Julien is featured in More of an Avalanche at Wysing Arts Centre
The exhibition (11 February – 8 April 2018) considers what it takes for people in marginalised positions to speak out and the mechanisms that get used to stop them from doing so. Wysing Arts Centre, Bourn, Cambridgeshire -
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Event
Posted
5 February 2018
Isaac Julien talks and screenings in Sydney
Screenings of Looking for Langston and Young Soul Rebels, followed by talks by the artist, take place on 14 and 18 February 2018. Sydney, Australia -
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Exhibition
Posted
3 February 2018
Isaac Julien’s Western Union: Small Boats at ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum
A presentation (3 February – 27 May 2018) in the Focus Gallery of the award-winning 2007 film which portrays people attempting to cross continents. Aarhus, Denmark -
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Review
Posted
6 December 2017
SF Weekly reviews Isaac Julien: Playtime
'SFAI's debut show at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture contains three outstanding film installations.' Peter Lawrence Kane, SF Weekly -
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Exhibition
Posted
1 December 2017
Isaac Julien: Playtime at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, San Francisco
An exhibition (1 December 2017 – 11 February 2018) of three recent video installations. Each film installation explores the wide-ranging effects of how information, labour and capital circulate in global, networked societies. Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, San Francisco -
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Review
Posted
1 December 2017
The San Francisco Chronicle reviews Isaac Julien: Playtime at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture
'Ultra-high-definition video images surround us, weaving together sublime landscapes and brawny city views. They are sumptuous and transfixing; each could be viewed as though it were a distinct work of photographic art.' Charles Desmarais, The San Francisco Chronicle -
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Event
Posted
6 October 2017
Now available as a podcast: Frieze Masters Talks – Isaac Julien in conversation with Nicholas Cullinan
In this hour-long talk, Julien and Cullinan discuss works in the National Portrait Gallery and their influence on Julien's career. Frieze Masters, Regent's Park, London -
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Screening
Posted
28 September 2017
The new, digitally-remastered 2K version of Isaac Julien and Mark Nash’s Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask receives its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival
Screenings take place at NFT3: 5 October 2017, 9pm; Studio: 8 October 2017, 2pm. BFI Southbank, London -
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Channel
28 September 2017
Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask trailer
Isaac Julien and Mark Nash’s Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask (1996) is a film portrait of the revolutionary, writer and psychiatrist, whose classic publications The Wretched of the Earth (1961) and Black Skin White Mask (1952) remain the bibles of decolonisation. The new, digitally-remastered 2K version of the film receives its world premiere at the 2017 BFI London Film Festival. -
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Screening
Posted
27 September 2017
Screenings of Isaac Julien’s Looking for Langston to take place at MoMA, New York
MoMA hosts the second of two screenings of Julien's seminal 1989 film Looking for Langston on 15 October 2017. MoMA, New York -
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Exhibition
Posted
25 September 2017
Into the Unknown: A Journey Through Science Fiction, featuring Isaac Julien, tours to Onassis Cultural Centre, Athens
Touring from the Barbican Centre, the exhibition (9 October 2017 - 14 January 2018) includes Julien’s 2004 work Encore II (Radioactive). Onassis Cultural Centre, Athens -
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Exhibition
Posted
25 July 2017
Isaac Julien in Coming Out: Sexuality, Gender and Identity at Walker Art Gallery
The Walker Art Gallery marks the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of male homosexual acts in England and Wales (1967 Sexual Offences Act) with a major exhibition (28 July - 5 November 2017) drawn from the Arts Council Collection and its own collections. Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool -
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Screening
Posted
25 July 2017
Isaac Julien interviewed as part of BBC Two’s Queer as Art
Available on BBC iPlayer, the hour-long programme celebrates the LGBTQ contribution to the arts in Britain in the 50 years since decriminalisation. BBC Two -
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News story
Posted
20 July 2017
The soundtrack to Isaac Julien’s Looking for Langston is released by The Vinyl Factory
The soundtrack is available in two vinyl editions. Both are pressed to specially mixed blue vinyl, housed in an extreme gloss sleeve, with 12″ insert, while a limited edition of 50 copies are signed by Julien himself. -
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Gallery Event
Posted
4 July 2017
FULLY BOOKED Isaac Julien’s Looking for Langston is celebrated in a special evening in association with queercircle and The Vinyl Factory
Thursday 27 July, 7-9pm. In conversation with Josh Rivers from Gay Times, Isaac Julien will discuss his seminal work Looking for Langston. The evening also features a special performance by artist and poet Travis Alabanza and the launch of the soundtrack of the film by The Vinyl Factory. Victoria Miro, Wharf Road -
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Review
Posted
3 July 2017
This is tomorrow reviews Isaac Julien: “I dream a world” Looking for Langston
"Julien’s visually arresting installation is luminous and large-scale, a combination of text, documentation and photography." Joan Lee, this is tomorrow -
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Screening
Posted
1 July 2017
Isaac Julien special event: A screening of The Passion of Remembrance, followed by an in conversation with the artist and Karen Alexander
A special event at South London Gallery (7pm, Wednesday 23 August 2017) as part of its exhibition The Place is Here. South London Gallery -
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Exhibition
Posted
21 June 2017
Isaac Julien in The Place is Here at South London Gallery
The exhibition (22 June - 10 September 2017) presents work by over twenty black artists and collectives working in 1980s Britain. South London Gallery -
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News story
Posted
16 June 2017
Isaac Julien appointed CBE in the Queen’s Birthday 2017 Honours List
Artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien has been appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to the Arts in the Queen’s Birthday 2017 Honours List. -
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News
Posted
7 June 2017
Isaac Julien announced as winner of the Charles Wollaston Award at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
The prestigious Charles Wollaston Award, one of the most significant art prizes in the country, is presented to the ‘most distinguished work’ in the exhibition (13 June - 20 August 2017). Royal Academy of Arts, London -
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Exhibition
Posted
3 June 2017
Isaac Julien’s Encore II (Radioactive) as part of the Barbican’s Into the Unknown: A Journey through Science Fiction
Julien’s 2004 work Encore II (Radioactive) is among the contemporary artworks included in the Barbican's major exhibition. Barbican Centre, London -
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Art fair
Posted
15 May 2017
Victoria Miro at Photo London with a special presentation of Isaac Julien’s Looking for Langston
Isaac Julien’s seminal work Looking for Langston (1989/2017) is the focus of this special presentation (18 - 21 May 2017), which features photographs presented as both large-scale works and silver gelatin prints, accompanied by an installation of the award-winning film. Somerset House, London -
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Interview
Posted
13 May 2017
Isaac Julien interviewed by Peter Aspden in the Financial Times
The artist discusses his life and a new exhibition based on his seminal film ‘Looking for Langston’. Photography © Peter Watkins. Peter Aspden, The Financial Times -
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Exhibition
Posted
12 May 2017
Isaac Julien featured in Diaspora Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2017
Julien’s single screen projection The Leopard and lightbox work Balustrade, both from the Western Union: Small Boats series, are currently included in the Diaspora Pavilion, La Biennale di Venezia (until 26 November 2017). Palazzo Pisani S. Marina, Venice -
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Exhibition
Posted
28 April 2017
Isaac Julien in The Restless Earth, Triennale di Milano
Julien's Western Unions: Small Boats, 2007, is included in The Restless Earth (28 April - 20 August 2017), which borrows its title from a collection of poems by Édouard Glissant, a Caribbean writer who probed the question of how different cultures can coexist. Palazzo della Triennale, Milan -
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News story
Posted
16 February 2017
Isaac Julien appointed Art Fund trustee
"I look forward to bringing my knowledge of contemporary art and artists film to the incredible expertise of the board." Artforum -
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Exhibition
Posted
2 February 2017
Isaac Julien: Playtime at Platform-L Contemporary Art Center, Seoul
The solo exhibition (22 February - 30 April 2017) features PLAYTIME, 2014, Kapital, 2013 and The Leopard, 2007. Seoul, Republic of Korea -
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Event
Posted
18 January 2017
Keynote Presentation: Isaac Julien in His Own Words at Royal Ontario Museum
Julien discusses the inspiration behind his ROM exhibition Isaac Julien: Other Destinies and more recent developments in his work (Jan 24). Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada -
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Exhibition
Posted
1 December 2016
Isaac Julien in The Place Is Here, Nottingham Contemporary
The exhibition (4 February - 30 April 2017) traces some of the urgent and wide-ranging conversations taking place between black artists, writers and thinkers in Britain in the 1980s. Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham -
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Exhibition
Posted
15 July 2016
Isaac Julien in Made You Look: Dandyism and Black Masculinity at The Photographers' Gallery
Still shots from the set of Julien's pivotal movie Looking for Langston (1989) are featured in this group exhibition (until 25 September 2016) exploring the identity of the black dandy. Curated by writer and broadcaster Ekow Eshun. The Photographers' Gallery, London -
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Exhibition
Posted
27 January 2016
Isaac Julien: Ten Thousand Waves at Fondation Louis Vuitton
A presentation (until 29 August 2016) of Julien's acclaimed nine-screen installation, which weaves together human interest stories involving Chinese workers with the legend of the Chinese Goddess Mazu, performed by siren of the silver screen Maggie Cheung. Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris -
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Gallery Exhibition
24 January - 1 March 2014
Isaac Julien : PLAYTIME (Seven Screen Installation)
Isaac Julien's PLAYTIME is an ambitious new body of work exploring the dramatic and nuanced subject of capital. Featuring the world premiere of a seven-screen installation at Victoria Miro Wharf... Victoria Miro Gallery I -
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Gallery Exhibition
24 January - 1 March 2014
Isaac Julien: PLAYTIME (Photographic Works)
Isaac Julien's PLAYTIME is an ambitious new body of work exploring the dramatic and nuanced subject of capital. Featuring the world premiere of a seven-screen installation at Victoria Miro Wharf... Victoria Miro Mayfair -
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Gallery Exhibition
7 October - 13 November 2010
Isaac Julien: Ten Thousand Waves
Isaac Julien's critically acclaimed, nine screen film installation TEN THOUSAND WAVES - starring Maggie Cheung, the legendary siren of Chinese cinema - is to receive its London premiere at the... Victoria Miro Gallery II -
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Gallery Exhibition
14 October - 12 November 2005
Isaac Julien: True North & Fantôme Afrique
This October, Victoria Miro Gallery will present the UK premiere of True North and Fantôme Afrique, two audiovisual installations by celebrated artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien, alongside associated photographic series.... Victoria Miro Gallery I -
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Gallery Exhibition
9 September - 11 October 2003
Isaac Julien: Paradise Omeros and Baltimore
'Few artists have cut as impressive a swathe between structural and narrative film as the British artist, Isaac Julien. His film installations effortlessly alternate between the specific and the elliptical,... Victoria Miro Gallery I -
Gallery Exhibition
10 - 30 September 1999
Isaac Julien: Three
Known mainly for his work in cinema, Three is the most recent of Isaac Julien's works to be made specifically for a gallery context, combining a full screening of the... Victoria Miro Gallery II
