As the Pace Gallery prepares to exhibit Edward and Nancy Kienholz’s sculpture The Ozymandias Parade in November, we are incredulous to find that this work is just as provocative, relevant and politically charged in the 2012 election year as when it was first debuted in 1985. 

The work’s timeless critique of power speaks to an international audience over a span of nearly three decades!

Edward & Nancy Reddin Kienholz, The Ozymandias Parade, 1985, mixed media tableau
152 x 349 x 180 in (386.1 x 886.5 x 457.2 cm) 

“The Ozymandias Parade” was first exhibited on November 8, 1986- January 19, 1986 at the University of Washington’s Henry Art Gallery in a group exhibition titled, “No! Contemporary American Dada.” 

Next, it was featured in a solo show “Kienholz, the Ozymandias Parade.” Portland Center for Visual Arts 22 May ,1985 - 29 June, 1986. 

In 1989,  The Ozymandias Parade made it’s international debut in the exhibition, “Edward and Nancy Kienholz: From the 1980’s,” Dusseldorf, Germany 23 March - 28 May 1989; and traveled to Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna, Austria, 29 September - 2 November, 1989. 

The piece was also on view in the exhibition “Kienholz,” Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK, 14 May - 19 August, 2005; and traveled to Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia, 16 December - 5 March, 2005.

Most recently the work was featured in the exhibition “Kienholz: The Signs of the Times,” Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany, 22 October, 2011 - 20 January, 2012; traveled to Museum Tinguely, Basel, Switzerland, 22 February -13 May, 2012.