Rosemarie Trockel & Paloma Varga Weisz
Maison de Plaisance
17 June–30 September 2012
Museum Morsbroich
Gustav-Heinemann-Strasse 80
D-51377 Leverkusen, Germany
The Baroque Maison de Plaisance is the starting point for an encounter between two women artists; Rosemarie Trockel and Paloma Varga Weisz have conceived an exhibition tour for the Museum Morsbroich in Leverkusen based on an intense dialogue. Alluding to the building’s original architectural function as a pleasure palace, the artists are showing a selection of works, the reception of which sets in motion a pleasurable intellectual game with similarities and dissimilarities.
The exhibition’s focal points are ceramic sculptures and drawings, media which play a major role in both the artists’ works. Fundamental overlaps between their works can be found not just at the level of the materials, but also at the level of the themes—for example, an involvement with the human figure as an image of the human condition. The two artists began the dialogue behind this exhibition as early as 2010, with the result that the encounter between their works is characterised by intensification, mirroring, continuation, and combination.
Several of the works have been done specifically for the exhibition, while others are being installed on-site, either shattering and/or subverting the historical atmosphere of the castle. Spaces are redefined by the walls being printed on, wallpapered, painted, or tiled, an artistic intervention which gives them a dimension that distinguishes them from the customary white exhibition wall. In terms of the historical architecture of the exhibition venue, this provides great potential for association.
Thanks to their playful arrangement they meet, as it were, at the most varied points and topics. Some rooms contain works by both artists, while others are completely devoted to individual positions. The works thus interweave to form a mesh that extends above and beyond the exhibition space: no single Ariadne thread leads along a single path through the building, instead there are many loose ends and possible links, all tempting the viewer to look.
Rosemarie Trockel is “the most important woman in the global art business” (Der Spiegel). Her roots are in North Rhine-Westphalia; she was born in Schwerte in 1952 and grew up in Leverkusen-Opladen.
Paloma Varga Weisz was born in 1966 and is therefore from a generation of artists who emerged after the 1980s, a period that was so important for art. She initially trained as a classical wood sculptress before studying at the Dusseldorf Academy under Tony Cragg and Gerhard Merz. “Currently Paloma Varga Weisz is one of the best and most subtle sculptresses around” (Welt am Sonntag).
Curated by Stefanie Kreuzer.
A catalogue accompanying the exhibition will be published in German and English by Verlag für Moderne Kunst, with a foreword by Markus Heinzelmann and an essay by Stefanie Kreuzer documenting how the works were arranged in the museum.
Plaisirs du Jardin
In the park of Museum Morsbroich, a number of artists will carry out a garden project entitled Plaisirs du Jardin (Pleasures of the Garden), which references the exhibition. Robert Elfgen, Michail Pirgelis, and Stephanie Stein will create situations that invite visitors to approach the respective artworks playfully. Stephanie Stein’s wooden frame is fragile and so eschews use as a climbing frame; instead it recalls the stands for large-format adverts for films. By contrast, Michail Pirgelis and Robert Elfgen call on visitors to become actively involved: Pirgelis’ ramp, made of airplane parts (in this case, floor panels), becomes a stage for (self-)presentation, while Elfgen’s artificial “mud-hollow” plays with the notion of summer holidays and the cooling effect of mud.
As of 1 July, in the Works on Paper Galleries of Museum Morsbroich:
Thomas & Renée Rapedius
or, How the Look of Things is Formed
1 July 2012–6 January 2013
*Image above:
Rosemarie Trockel, Still Life, 2011. Wood, painted. © Rosemarie Trockel, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2012. Courtesy Sprüth Magers Berlin London. Foto: Filip Vanzieleghem.
