About Time

The exhibition Charles Atlas: About Time will run from October 10th, 2024, to March 16th, 2025, at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, marking the first U.S. museum survey of the pioneering artist Charles Atlas. Spanning 50 years of his work, this retrospective offers an immersive experience, with several large-scale, multi-channel video installations, which Atlas refers to as “walk-through experiences.” These installations allow visitors to navigate a dynamic environment where single-channel videos are reimagined across multiple suspended screens and monitors, creating a more interactive engagement with the works.

Atlas’s early career began with his role as filmmaker-in-residence for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, where he helped develop the genre of “media-dance,” designed specifically for the camera. Since then, Atlas has become a leading figure in film and video art, collaborating with renowned artists like Michael Clark, Yvonne Rainer, Marina Abramović, and Leigh Bowery. His work is known for challenging conventions of gender, sexuality, and queer identity, making it both artistically innovative and politically resonant.

The exhibition highlights Atlas’s distinctive approach to blending performance, portraiture, and moving images. It reflects his longstanding focus on collaboration, intimacy, and the portrayal of personal relationships in a shifting cultural and political landscape. With a focus on gender, identity, and the body, About Time offers a fresh perspective on Atlas’s legacy and ongoing influence in contemporary art.