For the 29th Kaldor Public Art Project, internationally acclaimed artist Tino Sehgal presented This Is So Contemporary, from 6 – 23 February, 2014. Spontaneous and contagiously uplifting, this work enlivened the entrance court to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, directly engaging the Gallery’s visitors.

Sehgal has pioneered a radical and captivating way of making art. He orchestrates interpersonal encounters through dance, voice and movement, which have become renowned for their intimacy. This Is So Contemporary is no exception, challenging visitors as they entered the Gallery’s classical vestibule. His works remain somewhat of a mystery to those who have not directly experienced them, as they are not permitted to be photographed or filmed. Sehgal leaves no material traces, creating something that is at once valuable and entirely immaterial in a world already full of objects.

First presented at the 2005 Venice Biennale, Kaldor Public Art Project 29 marked the Australian debut of This Is So Contemporary. His recent exhibitions include This Progress at the Guggenheim New York in 2010, These Associations at the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in 2012, This Variation at Documenta 13. At the 2013 Biennale in Venice, Sehgal was awarded the Golden Lion, one of the world’s most prestigious art awards, and is shortlisted for Tate Modern’s 2013 Turner Prize.