The exhibition “Covered in Time and History: The Films of Ana Mendieta” is the first museum exhibition devoted to the filmworks of this highly acclaimed Cuban-American artist (Havana, 1948 – New York, 1985).

Bringing together 20 moving image works and 27 related photographs, the exhibition is the largest gathering of the artist’s filmic work ever presented as a full-scale exhibition in France.

Ana Mendieta is widely regarded as one of the most prolific and innovative artists of the post-war era. The recent exhibitions devoted to her work in Europe (Berlin, London, Prague, Salzburg, Turin and Umeå) revealed the power of her artistic vision and the influence of her work on the generations of artists that came after her. Mendieta’s work continues to have a strong impact on people of all ages and backgrounds.

During her brief career, from 1971 to 1985, Ana Mendieta produced a remarkable body of work, including drawings, installations, performances, photographs and sculptures. Lesser known, her production of films and videos is particularly impressive and prolific: her 104 filmworks produced between 1971 and 1981 make Ana Mendieta one of the leading figures in the practice of multidisciplinary visual art that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s.

Thanks to new research into Mendieta’s work in the filmic medium, the exhibition at the Jeu de Paume repositions the moving image from the periphery to the centre of her work, and is organized around the recurring themes explored in the films, including memory, history, culture, ritual and the passage of time, which are often distilled through the relationship of the body and the land. The majority of Mendieta’s films take place in nature and often feature her interest in the four classical elements: earth, water, air and fire. […]

Curators: Lynn Lukas and Howard Oransky

“Covered in Time and History: The Films of Ana Mendieta” is organized by the Katherine E. Nash Gallery at the University of Minnesota, in collaboration with Jeu de Paume, Paris, for the presentation in Paris. The exhibition is made possible in part by the Office of the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota, the National Endowment for the Arts, a gift of Agnes Gund, the Harlan Boss Foundation for the Arts, Kate and Stuart Nielsen, Syma Cheris Cohn, Metropolitan Picture Framing, the Epson Corporation, and the Tierney Brothers Corporation.

Media partners: A NOUS PARIS, Libération

Ana Mendieta, Sweating Blood, 1973. Film super-8. © The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC. Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co.