Erik van Lieshout’s work takes as its themes sex, violence, “high art” and its institutions, and commercial culture. His attitude is often marked by irreverence, a sense for comedy, and sometimes even disingenuous honesty. In 2009 he made a film at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne based on the experience of spending a night alone in the dark museum and encountering Mondrian and others by flashlight. In the summer of 2010, his film installation Commission (2011) documented the experience of running a temporary “shop” in the working-class district of Rotterdam South. Here, instead of simply selling goods, he sought to make connections with the neighborhood and its residents. Previous solo exhibitions include Commission at the MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main (2012), Erik Makes Happy at BAWAG Contemporary, Vienna (2011), How Can I Help You? at Hayward Gallery Project Space, London (2011), and Im Netz, Museum Ludwig, Cologne (2009). Recent group exhibitions include Manifesta 9 in Genk, Limburg, Belgium (2012) and Melanchotopia at the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam (2011). Van Lieshout received a Tiger Award for his short film Janus at the forty-second International Film Festival Rotterdam (2013).