Entre deux

Katinka Bock is not 35 yet, but she has already authored an important and much noted body of work, with exhibitions in France as well as in Germany, the Netherlands, or the United States. Her sculpture stems from reflection on form, always taking into account nature and the physical, historical, and social contexts of the places where she is invited. To her, the field of sculpture ranges from a mere container to a piece of architecture and may refer to a massive, lasting reality as well as to a slow process of erosion or dissolution. Hers is an art that remembers social sculpture and process art, but also mixes artisanal practices and collective histories. Each of her exhibitions brings back to the surface a share of history and invents its own temporality.

In September 2010 Katinka Bock participated in a group exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, following her residency there. The MOCAD is a very sculptural cube of grey concrete located alongside a six-lane road. With earth and a few accessories, the artist used the reality of the Motor City, forging relations with a surprising delicacy. Never directly evoking social reality, Katinka Bock instead follows the path or the detour of a formal thought. Her installation in Detroit matched the city and the place even more than it reflected them. This prompted Luis Croquer to invite her at the MOCAD for a personal show.

Luis Croquer is the director of the MOCAD. Born in El Salvador, he studied in London and has a wide-ranging view of contemporary art as well as a keen interest in the French art scene. Luis Croquer is coming through Paris to talk about the work of an artist he admires, but also about Detroit and his museum: a conversation between two countries, two continents, two exhibitions, and with at least two or three things to tell each other.