Almech. Relocating a branch of his father's factory in Wesola to Berlin, Althamer has set up machines and workers in the exhibition space, where they produce sculptural portraits of Deutsche Guggenheim, Deutsche Bank, and Guggenheim Foundation staff, as well as museumgoers.
Since the early 1990s Paweł Althamer has developed a singularly collaborative mode of art making. These endeavors have generated distinct bodies of artwork as well as diverse and unique social experiences for his collaborators and audiences alike. Throughout his career he has pursued the transformative potential of art, helping people reflect on their own creativity and awaken new understandings of their everyday lives. Now for his Deutsche Guggenheim commission—the 17th in the museum’s groundbreaking series—Althamer has fused these two trends in his practice, performance and sculpture, creating an exhibition-in-progress that confronts visitors with a site of active production rather than passive reflection.
Relocating a branch of his father’s factory in Wesoła to Berlin, Althamer has set up machines and workers in the exhibition space, where they produce sculptural portraits of Deutsche Guggenheim, Deutsche Bank, and Guggenheim Foundation staff, as well as museumgoers. With Almech Althamer has fashioned both a tribute to his father’s company and a massive group self-portrait defining the Deutsche Guggenheim through the individuals who frequent it.
Image: Pawel Althamer
Grzesio, 2010 (Detail)
Courtesy the artist and Neugerriemschneider, Berlin
Press Contact: Deutsche Guggenheim/ Sara Bernshausen t: +49 (0)30
202093-14 e-mail: sara.bernshausen@db.com
Press conference: October 27th, 7 pm
Deutsche Guggenheim
Unter den Linden 13 / 15, 10117 Berlin-Mitte
Daily, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Mondays, admission free
Admission: 4 Euros, reduced 3 Euros - free entrance on Mondays