Zbigniew Libera
dal 19/3/2002 al 27/4/2002
Segnalato da
19/3/2002
Zbigniew Libera
American European Fine Art, New York
Correcting Devices 1994-2000. Libera, a Polish artist of international renown, provides a spectrum of works inspired by French philosopher Michel Foucault, whose theory revolves around education and human body and devices used in the western culture with the intention of exercise and to shape behavioral patterns indispensable in the proper functioning of an individual. Libera’s works refer also to commercial colloquialism as well as social behavioral patterns - also the ones modeled by media and advertising
American-European Fine Art & Priska C. Juschka Fine Art
Opening Reception: Wednesday, March 20, 2002, 6-8 p.m.
Zbigniew Libera, a Polish artist of international renown,
provides a spectrum of works inspired by French philosopher
Michel Foucault, whose theory revolves around education and
human body and devices used in the western culture with the
intention of exercise and to shape behavioral patterns
indispensable in the proper functioning of an individual.
Libera’s works refer also to commercial colloquialism as well
as social behavioral patterns - also the ones modeled by media
and advertising.
Curiosity shop or house of horrors? Neither. The ideological,
concrete and psychic world that Zbigniew Libera consistently
refers to is our own. Libera, as a Pole and as a European,
has devised elegant aesthetic shorthand for the
"ideo-religio-philosophical" admixture in his artworks.
Indeed, his unique vision of our world is directly influenced
by his experience of a more brute ideology in the form of
Polish Martial Law.
Many of the objects created by Libera at first appear much
like those that already exist in the form of mass-production
commodities or as machines similar to those used in fitness
clubs or beauty salons. Libera’s signature "style" is one of
mimicry and uncanniness; each of his works is scrupulously
crafted to take on the formal characteristics of the
mass-produced objects, which inform them. These works
reference and reflect the foundation of commercial
advertising. Among Libera’s well known series of "Correcting
Devices" are: "Ken’s Aunt", "Placebo", "Universal Penis
Expander", "Body Master", "You Can Shave the Baby", "A
Different Type of Prison", photographs related to the
critically acclaimed "Lego 96". The year 2000 marks the end of
a major series of "Correcting Devices."
(Andrew Boardman)
"Toys are generally educational, and it’s this aspect that
fascinates me the most. With toys you can influence the
children. My toys are mainly targeted at adults, of course, at
the people who make the toys that introduce children to the
world. To put it in another way, toys are not ‘real things’.
But they are not gadgets either; they retain some functional
potential, but their function is modified with the respect to
the real objects. Through toys we can observe how our own
perception changes according to the function of the toy
itself."
(Zbigniew Libera in a conversation with Adam Szymczyk)
Image: "Placebo suppositories " 550 pieces / Edition 1 of 1 Each box contains four suppositories
American European Fine Art is located at 1100 Madison Avenue, between 82 and 83 Street, in New York, NY 10028.
Gallery hours are Tues.- Sat 11- 5p.m.