The Center Cannot Hold / Interview Andres Jaque #2
In his words, Jaque sees architecture as a 'political and non-ideological activity', that is to say, as a constant practice of negotiation between various actors.
Architect Andrés Jaque is currently living and working between New York where he teaches (Columbia and Princeton universities) and Madrid where his architecture agency, the Office for Political Innovation, is based.
Jaque and his architecture agency undertake both commercial commissions such as residential housing, contemporary art fairs (e.g. ARCO in Madrid), the redevelopment of public spaces, as well as conceptual projects ranging from videos, performances, and multimedia installations.
His exhibition Sex and the So-Called City was held at Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York. Addressing the legacy of the eponymous cult TV series of the early 2000s, Jaque examined in this exhibition the then radical urban change experienced by New York under mayor Michael Bloomberg. It is part of a series of works, including Pornified Homes (Oslo Architectural Triennal, 2016) and Intimate Strangers (London Design Museum, 2017) through which Jaque and his office explore the way real estate and online interactions are producing new forms of sexualized urbanisms.
In 2014, Andrés Jaque received the Silver Lion of the Venice Biennale and in 2016, he was awarded with the Frederick Kiesler Architecture and Art Prize. Jaque co-curated the Manifesta 12 biennal in Palermo, together with Ippolito Pestellini, Bregtje van der Haak, and Mirjam Varandinis.
In 2018, he also participated in the show The Center Cannot Hold at Lafayette Anticipations, Paris.