TONY COKES in De Balie, a partner project of the Hartwig Art Foundation
December 22, 2022 – January 8, 2023

De Balie in Amsterdam
Kleine-Gartmanplantsoen 10, 1017 RR Amsterdam, Netherlands

From December 22–January 8, TONY COKES’s video works will take over the entire building of De Balie, Amsterdam, displaying the striking combination of bright colors, in-your-face text, and thumping beats that have characterized his unique video essays for decades. Cokes's art challenges its audience to reevaluate the political roles of art and media: What does it mean for art to stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020? What role does dance music play in the War on Terror?

Cokes’s work reveals the contradictions and complexities of our contemporary capitalist society. Entwining themes such as gentrification, popular culture, and racial inequality, the artist's immersive videos combine the ideas of thinkers such as Paul Gilroy and James Baldwin with the music of Michael Jackson, Morrissey, Kraftwerk, and Nancy Sinatra.

The exhibition at De Balie is curated in close consultation with Tony Cokes, in partnership with the Hartwig Art Foundation and featuring generous loans of works by the artist.

Tony Cokes will speak at De Balie about his work on Friday, January 6.

For more information, please visit De Balie's website.