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10/12/2013

Roni Horn

Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt

Curated by Kristin Schrader

In colla boration with the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, the American artist Roni Horn (*1955) is presenting an extended form of a photographic work she developed in 2005, “ Portrait of an Image (with Isabelle Huppert) ” : sixteen striking interventions comprised of se lected motifs from the serial work are distributed in Frankfurt’s urban space, while the complete one - hundred - part series of portraits is being shown in the walkways of the r o tunda of the Schirn. This is the very first staging in public space of this kind within Roni Horn ’s artistic oeuvre. The two - part series “ Portrait of an Image (with Isabelle Huppert) ” each of which consists of fifty photographs in sequences of five motifs each is based on a collaboration between Horn and the French film and stage actress Isabelle Hupper t. Together they selected earlier roles Huppert had played that the actress then performed again for the camera. For these photographs, Huppert visualized her repertoire solely on the basis of her memory, without the aid of the scripts or the films themsel ves. Setting out from the Schirn, Horn places a selection of these motifs in public space in a way that does not reveal that they are part of her work or an artistic project: no mention is made either of the artist or the exhibiting institution, and ther e is no title that would indicate that it is a work of art.

Sixteen motifs appear in places in Frankfurt’s urban space in which advertising is usually displayed advertising that in our society for the most part relies on the impact of faces. However, in Ho rn’s work the portraits are not furnished with commentary and therefore raise questions, for example how and whether we can read the face we are looking at even without a prescribed context. The confrontation with these faces in the cityscape provides an o pportunity for unexpected, random encounters and recurring meetings, such as they take place in our everyday social coexistence. Selected motifs from the series were visible in Frankfurt’s public space from late September to early October 2013, so that the images can now in part produce an unconscious sense of recognition.

Even before the official start of the exhibition, Isabelle Huppert’s face will be visible in places on posters in subway stations and cars as well as on large surfaces. The density of th ese posters will increase over several days. Some places will be provided with images of the actress over an extended period of time, for example a revolving advertising space below a large urban clock at Frankfurt’s Allerheiligentor or the Holbeinsteg ove r the Main River, over which a banner will be spanned with a photograph of Huppert. On the first day of the exhibition as well as at another date, motifs on 110 digital advertising spaces will appear and disappear again in Hessian train stations, such as F rankfurt, Offenbach, Wiesbaden, Kassel, Fulda, Giessen, Darmstadt, and Hanau. This is a key feature of the work, which not only examines the art of acting through its concept and the protagonist but becomes visible itself in the realization, in the perform ance as it were, by means of an exhibition and can only be experienced temporarily, much like what occurs on a stage. Unlike other photographic works by Roni Horn, “ Portrait of an Image ” only exists in this form. It has not been recorded in a publication tha t includes all of the individual images.

The exhibition is being made possible by the SCHIRN ZEITGENOSSEN.

According to Max Hollein, director of the Schirn: “The Schirn has set itself the task of continuously implementing large - scale and complex artistic interventions in public space. We are all the more delighted that we are have the opportunity to work with Roni Horn, with one of the most outstanding international artists, and that we can make one of her important photographic works which time and again deal w ith questions of identity in a very subtle way accessible to and able to be experienced by a broad public in Germany.” Kristin Schrader, curator of the exhibition: “Roni Horn’s oeuvre is singular. “ Portrait of an Image ” is a comprehensive reflection of the content of her creative approach. By relocating parts of her work to Frankfurt’s urban space, Horn sets up various levels of dialogue with viewers, who for her are immensely important as an integral part of her work.” Roni Horn’s creative work is charact erized less by a specific artistic medium than by her concentration on significant is sues and ideas. Labels such as ’ sculptor ’ or ’ photographer ’ are therefore not applicable to or fall short of describing Horn, in particular in view of the fact that she ex presses herself by means of photographs, objects, and drawings as well as through writing. What is decisive is her interest in the concepts of identity and difference. Against this background, her examination of the art - historical genre of the portrait see ms natural. “ Portrait of an Image (with Isabelle Huppert) ” presents close - up images of the French actress and in doing so challenges viewers to intensely confront the emotions being depicted, which on the basis of the chosen medium alone, photography, are na turally perceived as authentic and not staged. The arrangement of five motifs each into a sequence undermines the popular n otion of the photograph at the ’ decisive moment ’ , which is presumably capable of capturing the essence of an event or an elementary a spect of someone’s personality in the fraction of a second. By reproducing this decisive moment, Roni Horn addresses the diversity and instability of identity. The artist always works with an arrangement of at least two objects or images, which reflects as pects such as similarity, correspondence, and deviation. By leaving viewers in the dark about whether the motifs being shown are identical or only slightly deviate from one another, Horn’s works prompt an element of uncertainty. For Horn, those works that possess the character of incompleteness are the most meaningful .

Roni Horn lives and works in New York, the city of her birth. She studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and Yale University. She has become known to an international public for her mu ltifaceted exhibition activity, fo r example her participation in d ocumenta IX (1992) and in the 47th Venice Biennale (1997). In 2009, the retrospective “ Roni Horn a.k.a Roni Horn ” presented her work at the Tate Modern, London, the Collection Lambert, Avignon , as well as at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, and in 2010 at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. Works by Roni Horn are included in the collections of the Gugge n heim Museum, New York, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Art Insti tute of Chicago, the Tate Modern, London, the Centre Georges Pomp i dou, Paris . The exhibition is being made possible by the SCHIRN ZEITGENOSSEN, a circle of private patrons of young art at the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt. The Schirn thanks Jan Bauer , Michael Fabich, Andreas Fendel, Hartmuth Jung, Sunhild Theuerkauf - Lukic und Andreas Lukic, Shahpar Oschmann, Vasiliki Basia and Jörg Rockenhäuser, Katharina and Lars Singbartl, Ant o nie and Heiner Thorborg, as well as Vera and Stefan Wallrich for their co mmitment. EDITION: As a continuation of her exhibition project, Roni Horn designed an edition consisting of the sixteen motifs distributed throughout Frankfurt that have been assembled as an A2 - format postcard page. When separated, they playfully invite o ne to carry on the dialogue with Huppert’s faces and likewise allow others to join in.

Image: © Roni Horn
Portrait of an Image (with Isabelle Huppert), 2005
Courtesy Roni Horn und Hauser + Wirth

Press contact:
Axel Braun (Head of Press/Public Relations), Pamela Rohde (Press Spokeswoman) Simone Krämer, Lara Schuh (Trainee). Tel: (+49-69) 29 98 82-148, Fax: (+49-69) 29 98 82-240, E-mail: presse@schirn.de

Preview for the press: Wednesday, December 11, 2013, 11:00 a.m.

Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt
Römerberg, D-60311 Frankfurt
Hours: Tuesday, Friday–Sunday 10am–7pm, Wednesday–Thursday 10am–10pm
Admission: €8.00, reduced €6.00, family ticket €16.00; combination ticket with the exhibition Glam €15.00, reduced €11.00; children under the age of eight admitted free of charge.
GUIDED TOURS FOR THE PUBLIC: Wed 7:00 p.m., Thu 8:00 p.m., Sat 3:00 p.m., Sun 5:00 p.m.

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