Roman Signer
Four Rooms | One Artist
September 15 – November 13, 2010
495 Broadway 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10012
Tel 212-925-2035
Fax 212-925-2040
info [at] swissinstitute.net
As the title suggests, the exhibition at Swiss Institute is divided into four rooms. The first one presents Piano (2010), which is comprised of a grand piano that is filled with table tennis balls. Two oscillating fans are placed on either side of the instrument. The gentle airflow causes the balls to dance on the chords, creating eerie music.
The second room contains Cinema (2010) an installation with rows of wooden chairs and a projected film. In the back of the room, one chair mysteriously rocks back and forth, as if led by an invisible hand. The video is a transfer of one of the artist’s “Restenfilm,” or “leftovers,” Super8-clips of experiments that were never constituted into artworks. The film also documents places or events that are of particular interest to Signer.
In the third room, three respective video projections of recent actions are shown: Shirt (2010); Two Umbrellas, Iceland (2008); and Office Chair (2010).
The fourth and last room hosts the installation, Waiting for Harold Edgerton (2010), a subtle intervention that deliberately remains enigmatic. It gestures to the American photographer, who was well known for his speed photography and perpetuated as “the man who made time stand still.”
Curated by Gianni Jetzer
Lecture Series
Two Critics | One Artist
On the occasion of the exhibition, SI is hosting a lecture series that explores the profound impact of Signer’s work.
Thursday, October 7 | 6:30 PM | Gregory Volk. Gregory Volk is an artist and curator living in New York; he has maintained an ardent interest in Signer’s work since the early 1990′s.
Friday, October 29 | 6:30 PM | Jeremy Millar. Jeremy Millar is an artist and tutor at the Royal College of Art, London; In 1996, Millar organized Signer’s first exhibition in the United Kingdom.
With kind support of Hauser & Wirth, Zurich London New York and Kulturförderung Kanton St.Gallen and Swisslos.
About Swiss Institute / Contemporary Art New York
Swiss Institute / Contemporary Art is a not-for-profit contemporary art gallery operating in New York City since 1986. As a truly international space for contemporary art, we occupy an ambitious, boundary-crossing role in NYC, fostering interaction between international artists and audiences. Our institution functions as a European Kunsthalle, presenting cutting-edge art within a forward-thinking intellectual framework. Because we have no collection, all of our energy is geared toward the realization of artistic and curatorial projects. A vital part of our programming is an ambitious series of events, which create crucial opportunities to weave contemporary art into the fabric of everyday life.
