فير زملر غاليري Sfeir-Semler Gallery

Rabih Mroué

Rabih Mroué (b.1967, Beirut, Lebanon, lives and works in Berlin) is an actor, director, playwright, visual artist, and a contributing editor for The Drama Review (TDR), New York. He has had solo exhibitions at Kunsthalle Mainz (2016); MoMA New York (2015); Kunsthalle Mulhouse (2015); SALT, Istanbul (2014); Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Madrid (2013); Documenta, Kassel (2012); Kunstverein Stuttgart (2011); and BAK, Utrecht (2010). Read more

He has Participated in major group exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston (2018); Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin (2017); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2016); MACBA, Barcelona (2015); Performa 09, New York (2009); 11th International Istanbul Biennial (2009); Queens Museum of Art, New York (2009); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2008); and Tate Modern, London (2007).His works are in the collections of the MoMA New York, Centre Pompidou Paris, SFMOMA San Francisco, the Art Institute of Chicago, CA2M Madrid, MACBA Barcelona, and the Van Abbe Museum Rotterdam, among others. Mroué is a co-founder of the Beirut Art Center and a long time collaborator with Ashkal Alwan, who have produced many of his performances. He is currently an associate director of Kammerspiele Munich.

On Three Posters, 2004, single-channel colour video with sound, 17'
1/4Rabih Mroué, On Three Posters, 2004, single-channel colour video with sound, 17'
Self Portrait as a Fountain, 2006, Lightbox, 85 x 100 cm
2/4Rabih Mroué, Self Portrait as a Fountain, 2006, Lightbox, 85 × 100 cm
Don't Spread Your Legs, 2011, video, photography, and walltext, dimensions variable, video: 7' 45''
3/4Rabih Mroué, Don't Spread Your Legs, 2011, video, photography, and walltext, dimensions variable, video: 7' 45''
The Pixelated Revolution, 2012, Video (colour, sound), 21' 58''
4/4Rabih Mroué, The Pixelated Revolution, 2012, Video (colour, sound), 21' 58''

Selected Press

Gallery Exhibitions

Exhibitions Beyond

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2023

  • My life always comes back to me like a lame dog, Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg, Germany

  • The Pixilated Revolution, MoMA, New York, USA

2022

  • Images Mon Amour, Kunsthal Extra City, Antwerp, Belgium

  • Under the Carpet, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Germany

2017

  • A Leap Year, Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon

2016

  • Between Two Battles, Kunsthalle Mainz, Mainz, Germany

  • I was fortunate not to have seen what the others had witnessed, Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg, Germany

2015

  • Mer Méditerranée, La Kunsthalle Mulhouse, Center d'art contemporain, Mulhouse, France

2014

  • Rabih Mroué, SALT Beyoglu/Galata, Istanbul, Turkey

  • Rabih Mroué, Fri Art in collaboration with Belluard Bollwerk International Festival, Friborg, Switzerland

2013

  • Rabih Mroué. Image (s) mon amour, CA2M Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Madrid, Spain

2011

  • Rabih Mroué. Will the Spring Visit Us?, Tranzitdisplay, Prague, Czech Republic

  • The People are Demanding, Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart, Germany

  • I, the Undersigned, Lunds Konsthall, Lund, Sweden

  • The People are Demanding, Rivington Place, London, United Kingdom

  • My Leap into the Void, Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Hamburg, Germany

2010

  • I, The Undersigned, BAK Basis voor Actual Kunst, Utrecht, Netherlands

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024

  • On the Human Comedy, Mina Image Centre, Beirut, Lebanon

2023

  • Machinations, Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain

  • PXL-MAD, School of Arts, Hasselt, Belgium

2022

  • Homosphäre, Kunsthalle Mainz, Germany

2021

  • When I Count There Are Only You…, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE

2020

  • Image Wars: The power of Images, Künstlerhaus, Halle für Kunst & Medien, Austria

  • 20/20 Vision: The Collection Remixed, Kunsthalle Bremen, Germany

  • Unprecedented Times, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz, Austria

2019

  • Again we are defeated, as part of Out There 2019: Transnational/Transdisciplinary, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA

  • Image Wars. Macht der Bilder, Künstlerhaus Graz

  • Unvergessliche Zeit, Kunsthaus Bregenz

  • Chennai Photo Biennale, Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

2018

  • Scripted Reality, Museo Jumex, Mexico City, Mexico

  • Art in the Age of the Internet, 1989 to Today, The Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, USA

  • And I Will Take You To Paradise, Museum KUBE, Alesund, Norway

  • „Deutschland ist keine Insel“ Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland Ankäufe von 2012 bis 2016, Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, Germany

2017

  • KAI10, Aretha Foundation, Düsseldorf, Germany

  • How Close Could We Get to the Light and Survive?, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany

  • The Image of War, Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden

  • H (a) unting Images: anatomy of a shot, CaixaForum, Barcelona, Spain

  • Propositions for a stage: 24 Frames of a Beautiful Heaven, Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore

  • Floating Self: Rabih Mroué, Rosa Rendl, Amalia Ulman, Salzburg Art Association, Salzburg, Austria

2016

  • Sub-Weapons, MAK Frankfurt, Germany

  • Movement of the People, University of Essex, United Kingdom

  • On Disappearing And For Vanishing, TARTU Art Museum, Tartu, Estonia

2015

  • Gallery 3010, Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon

  • Techologism, Monash University Museum of Art, Caulfield East, Australia

  • HomeWorks 7, Askhal Alwan, Beirut, Lebanon

  • The Beast & The Sovereign, co-produced by MACBA and Württembergischer Kunstverein (WCF) Stuttgart, Germany

2014

  • Unreliable Evidence: The Execution of Maximilian by Edouard Manet and Other Histories, Mead Gallery, Coventry, United Kingdom

2013

  • A Different Child of Order:, The ICP Triennial, International Center of Photography, New York, United States

  • WRO 2013 Biennial, WRO Center for Media Art, Wroclaw, Poland

  • Version Control, Arnolfini, Bristol, United Kingdom

2012

  • dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel, Germany

  • Time and Again, Gallery AKINCI, Amsterdam, Netherlands

  • Habeas corpus, El Center d’Art de Tarragona, Spain

  • Demonstrations. Making Normative Orders, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Germany

  • Double shooting installation during he world is not fair, HAU Hebbel Am Ufer, Berlin, Germany

  • Audience as Subject, Part 2: Extra Large, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, USA

2011

  • Victims and Martyrs, Göteborgs Konsthall, Sweden

Selected Performances, Lectures and Screenings

2020

  • Cheers to our Wishes, Film as part of CC: World, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany

2019

  • Elephant, In collaboration with Dance Ensemble, Kampnagel, K2, Hamburg, Germany

  • You Should Have Seen Me Dancing Waltz, In collaboration with Dance Ensemble, Kampnagel, K2, Hamburg, Germany

  • Elephant, In collaboration with Dance Ensemble, Onassis, Athens

  • You Should Have Seen Me Dancing Waltz, In collaboration with Dance Ensemble, Onassis, Athens

  • Borborygmus, with Lina Majdalanie & Mazen Kerbaj, Home Works Forum 8, Ashkal Alwan, Beirut, Lebanon

  • Borborygmus, with Lina Majdalanie & Mazen Kerbaj, HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin, Germany

  • Sand in the Eyes, LE BAL, Paris, France

  • Ode to Joy, Theater Commons Tokyo, Japan

  • Sand in the Eyes, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA

  • Borborygmus, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA

2018

  • Sand in the Eyes, Kampnagel, Hamburg, Germany

  • 31st European Media Art Festival: Report - Notes From Reality, Osnabrück, Germany

  • So Little Time, Fast Forward Festival 5, Onassis Cultural Centre, Athens, Greece

2016

  • Dance On - Water Between Three Hands, Rabih Mroué with Dance on Ensemble, Kampnagel, Hamburg, Germany

2015

  • Project 101, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA

2014

  • 33 rounds and a few seconds, Performance by Rabih Mroué / Lina Saneh, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, USA

  • Riding on a Cloud, Performance by Rabih Mroué / Yasser Mroué, Kampnagel, Hamburg, Germany

2013

  • The White Sheets of Berlin, A Tribute to Etel Adnan, Performance by Rabih Mroué / Rima Khcheich, HAU Hebbel Am Ufer, Berlin, Germany

  • International Summer Festival, Kampnagel, Hamburg, Germany

  • Unrest of Form. Imagining the Political Subject, Secession Vienna Festival, Austria

  • 33 rounds and a few seconds, Performance by Rabih Mroué / Lina Saneh, Askhal Alwan, Beirut, Lebanon

2012

  • Probable Title: Zero Probability II, Performance by Rabih Mroué / Hito Steyerl, House of World Cultures Berlin, Germany

  • 33 rounds and a few seconds, Steirischer Herbst 2012 Graz, Austria; Festival d’Avignon, France, co-produced by Kunsten Festival des Arts, Brussels, Belgium; Scène nationale de Petit-Quevilly-Mont-Saint-Aignan, Rouen; Festival delle Colline Torines, Torino, Italy; Festival de Genève, Kampnagel Hamburg, Germany; Helsinki; Malta Festival Poznan 2012, Poland

  • The Pixelated Revolution, House of World Cultures, Berlin, Germany

2011

  • Photo Romance, Performance by Rabih Mroué / Lina Saneh, Kampnagel, Hamburg, Germany

  • Who’s Afraid of Representation?, Performance by Rabih Mroué / with Lina Saneh, ALFILM 11, Berlin, Germany

  • Three evenings With Rabih Mroué and friends, Globe, Erdgeschoss der Deutsche Bank-Türme, Frankfurt, Germany

2010

  • The Inhabitants of Images, BAK Basis voor Actual Art, Utrecht, Netherlands

2009

  • Photo-Romance, Performance Rabih Mroué / Lina Saneh, Homeworks 5, Ashkal Alwan, Beirut, Lebanon, co produced by Festival d’Avignon, Théâtre de l’Agora Scène nationale d’Evry, Festival des Collines,Turin; Festival/Tokyo, Parc de La Villette, Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin

  • The Inhabitants of Images a lecture performance, co-produced by Bidoun Magazine, TQW in Vienna, Ashkal Alwan in Beirut, Austria and Lebanon

2008

  • Noiseless, a short animation produced by CINE-POEM

  • Theater with dirty feet, lecture-performance for HAU 2, Hebbel-Theater, Berlin, Germany

2007

  • How Nancy Wished That Everything What happened to April Fool’s Joke, performance by Rabih Mroué in collaboration with Fadi Toufiq, Masrah al-Madina, Beirut, Lebanon

  • Yesterday’s Man, Performance by Rabih Mroué / Tony Chakar / Tiago Rodrigues, Trafó, Budapest, Hungary

  • How Nancy Wished That Everything Was an April Fool’s JokeHow Nancy Wished That Everything Was an April Fool’s Joke, Performance by Rabih Mroué in collaboration with Fadi Toufiq, Tokyo International Arts Festival, Tokyo, Japan, co-produced by Ashkal Alwan, Beirut, Lebanon; La Ferme du Buisson-Scène nationale de Marne La Vallée, France; Festival d’Automne à Paris, France

2006

  • Make Me Stop Smoking, Oberhausen Film Festival, Oberhausen, Germany

  • Look at the Light Moving Between the Buildings, Siemens Arts Program, Munich, Germany

2004

  • Life is Short But the Day is Too Long, Les Subsistances, Lyon, France

  • Who’s Afraid of Representation, HAU Hebbel Am Ufer, Berlin, Germany

2003

  • Looking For a Missing Employee,Ashkal Alwan, Beirut, Lebanon

  • Bir-Rooh-Bid-Dam, Short Film

  • Limp Bodies,Tanzquartier Wien, Monument Project, Vienna, Austria

2002

  • Biokhraphia, Performance by Rabih Mroué / Lina Saneh, Ashkal Alwan Production, Beirut, Lebanon

  • Three Posters, Performance by Rabih Mroué /Elias Khoury, KunstenFestivalDesArts, Brussels, Belgium

2001

  • Face A / Face B, Short Film

2000

  • Red Dead Zone, Performance by Rabih Mroué / Feyrouz Serhal, Ashkal Alwan Production, Beirut, Lebanon

  • Three Posters, Performance by Rabih Mroué / Elias Khoury, Festival Ayloul Production, Beirut, Lebanon

1998

  • Come In Sir We Are Waiting For You, Performance by Rabih Mroué / Tony Chakar, Théâtre de Beyrouth, Beirut, Lebanon

1997

  • Extension 19, Festival Ayloul production, Beirut, Lebanon

1995

  • La Prison De Sable, Théâtre de Beyrouth, Beirut, Lebanon

1993

  • The Lift, Carthage International Theater Festival, Egypt

1990

  • L’abat-Jour, Beirut, Lebanon

Awards

2020

  • Schering Stiftung Award for Artistic Research

2011

  • Bansemer & Nyssen Dramatiker Prize, with Lina Saneh

2010

  • Spalding Gray Award, New York, USA

  • Artist’s Grant for Theatre / Performance Arts from the Foundation of Contemporary Arts, New York, USA

Public Collections

Education

1989

  • Studied Theatre at the Lebanese University in Beirut, Lebanon