Every Day of the Weak. His installations, sculptures, photographs and drawings humorously materialize his reflections on key questions about life. One focus of the exhibition is the series of works bearing the title Idiot. This is an encounter with the literary figure of the idiot, and at the same time a humorous reflection on the role of the artist in society.
With »Every Day of the Weak« the kestnergesellschaft presents a comprehensive solo
exhibition by the Belgian artist Kris Martin. The show – a cooperation with the Kunstmuseum
Bonn and the Aargauer Kunsthaus – is a unique opportunity to discover Kris Martin’s
spectacular installations.
Kris Martin occupies an important position in contemporary art which draws on the tradition
of the ready-made, but redefines it. His installations, sculptures, photographs and drawings
humorously materialize his reflections on key questions about life. In an art of appropriation
and revelation, Kris Martin sounds out the meaning and meaninglessness of human
existence. With minimal interference and reduced means he alters found objects to create
blank spaces which viewers can fill with their own interpretations. In For Whom (2012) a
large church bell produces no sound even when in movement, as the clapper is missing. A
huge hot-air balloon is inflated by a blower in the exhibition space and can be entered by the
visitors (T.Y.F.F.S.H., 2009). In Trinity I (2009) Martin has removed all the letters and
numbers from an indicator panel familiar from airports or stations. The indicators turn over
in an unpredictable rhythm – without announcing places, times and destinations.
One focus of the exhibition is the series of works bearing the title Idiot. This is an encounter
with the literary figure of the idiot, and at the same time a humorous reflection on the role
of the artist in society. The departure point of these works is the Idiot (2005), a handwritten
copy of Dostoyevsky’s novel of the same name. Kris Martin dedicated himself to this task
every day for five months and made a minimal, but decisive alteration to the original: he
replaced the name of the protagonist Prince Myshkin with his own, thus giving a fictional
character a body and himself an identity.
Kris Martin was born in Kortrijk (Flanders) in 1972. He lives and works in Ghent.
catalogue
The exhibition is a accompanied by a catalogue from Distanz Verlag in
German and English with contributions by Volker Adolphs, Susanne
Figner, Antonia Lotz and Madeleine Schuppli, with a foreword by Veit
Görner – 188 pages, approx. 100 color plates, €44.
edition
An exclusive edition will be issued for the exhibition.
cultural partner
The kestnergesellschaft is supported by the state of Lower Saxony.
educational program
free guided tours
Saturdays at 3 pm
Sundays and on Holidays at 11 am and 3 pm
Wednesdays 1 pm half-hour »lunch-break« tour
Thursdays 7 pm
special guided tours
tours for pupils
by arrangement in English, French or Spanish
evening for teachers
Thursday, November 29, 6 pm
guided tour by an expert
Thursday, December 6, 7 pm
with Dr. Volker Adolphs, curator oft he Kunstmuseum Bonn
guided tour for families
Sunday, December 16, 4 pm
guided tour with director
Thursday, January 24, 7 pm
with Dr. Veit Görner (director of the kestnergesellschaft)
kestnerdialogue
Thursday, January 31, 7 pm
artist talk with Kris Martin
kestnerkids goes international
Tuesday, December 11, 4 pm
Tuesday, January 15, 4 pm
Children from 5 to 12 years will get to know our exhibitions through child-oriented guided tours and art workshops.
Image: T.Y.F.F.S.H. (2009). Installation view, K20, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf. Photograph: Achim Kukulies, Düsseldorf © Sies + Höke, Düsseldorf. Courtesy Mimi and Filiep Libeert, Kortrijk
press
for press photos, requests for interviews and further information
please contact Konstantin Wenzel, tel. +49 511 7012016,
presse@kestnergesellschaft.de; press material can be downloaded at
www.kestnergesellschaft.de under “press”
press preview: Wednesday 21 November 2012, 11 a.m. with the artist
opening: Thursday, 22 November 2012, 7 p.m. with the artist. Speakers: Dr. Veit Görner, director; Susanne Figner, curator; Antonia Lotz, curator
Kestnergesellschaft
Goseriede 11 - 30159 Hanover
opening hours
daily 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Thursdays 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Mondays closed
admission
€7, concession €5
Free entry for members and children under 14
Your ticket entitles you to repeat visits for the duration of the exhibition and can be
handed on to others.