Artist:
Rirkrit Tiravanija (born 1961 in Buenos Aires, Argentina; lives and works in Chiang Man, Thailand, Berlin, Germany, and New York City, USA).

Materials:
Wood and metal; 2.4 x 2.7 x 2.4 m.

Description:
“Tiravanija considers his role as an artist is as a developer of a dialogue, not necessarily as the creator of an object. His Untitled (Tropical House) (2006) is a version of the prefabricated housing for French colonial officials working in the Congo designed in the 1950s by the architect Jean Prouvé. Tiravanija’s facsimile of the French Tropical House embodies his interest in exploring the separation of public and private.”
News release, “Smithsonian American Art Museum Exhibition Honors Six Winners of Its Prestigious Contemporary Art Prize – the Lucelia Artist Award,” Smithsonian, January 23, 2008.

“In 1949, the French architect Jean Prouvé (1901-1984) was commissioned to design a type of housing for the bureaucrats and traders traveling to the African colonies, who suffered from the high temperatures of their new hometowns. Prouvé designed the Tropical House, a small portable building, constructed with steel panels (produced in France).”
Press release, kurimanzutto.

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