Roman Signer
dal 9/9/2003 al 19/10/2003
Segnalato da
9/9/2003
Roman Signer
Skuc Gallery, Ljubljana
Video Works. The selected video works offer a multifaceted perspective on the artist's performance actions and present a document of his way of thinking in connection with his broader artistic work. These videos are not, then, merely a record of his performance actions, but contain their own aesthetic elements, as well.
Video Works
With the exhibition Video Works, Galerija Skuc honors thirty years of
artistic creation by the Swiss artist Roman Signer (born 1938), who lives
and works in St. Gallen. The selected video works offer a multifaceted
perspective on the artist's performance actions and present a document of
his way of thinking in connection with his broader artistic work. These
videos are not, then, merely a record of his performance actions, but
contain their own aesthetic elements, as well. For in their uniquely
direct and raw treatment of the film material, they transcend their
apparently documentary nature. The works presented at Galerija Skuc come
from the period 1982-2002 and include the videos Frosch (Frog) 2001 and
Eimer (Buckets) 2002, which have rarely been viewed in the international
art context.
Roman Signer is an enigmatic figure in contemporary visual art who began
compiling his unique opus in 1971. His work has been presented at some of
most prominent events in contemporary art, including Dokumenta 8 in Kassel
(1987) and Skulptur.Projekte in Münster (1997), at many biennials, and at
major museums. His work, which takes as its starting point the experience
of conceptual art, is involved with spectacle, as well as with various
poetic and quite artistic actions linked to experiments with body and the
effects of devices of the artist's own invention. Signer's actions with
explosives, miraculous sculptures, and various devices can for the most
part be viewed, if not live, then through video recordings or digital
media and photography. Here, however, one must highlight his expanded
conception of sculpture. For in actions involving a specific time period,
the things he makes use of alter their aggregate states. By introducing
the dimension of time, along with cleverness and humor, and aided by
technological and natural forces, Roman Signer, who begins by transforming
shapes in space - a classic principle of sculpture - ends by transforming
space itself.
This is Roman Signer's first solo presentation in Ljubljana, although in
1998 he participated in the group show Levada at Galerija Skuc as part of
the artistic corporation Ingold Airlines. The exhibition of his video work
is organized by Galerija Skuc in conjunction with the Embassy of
Switzerland and Pro Helvetia - Arts Council of Switzerland. The curator
for the exhibition is Gregor Podnar, an independent curator who has
previously organized several exhibitions of Swiss art in Slovenia
(Kapriola, 1996; Levada, 1998; and It's Comfy, 1999 - all at Galerija
Skuc).
Supported by: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, Cultural
Department of the City of Ljubljana, Pro Helvetia - Arts Council of
Switzerland, Embassy of Switzerland in Ljubljana.
You are kindly invited to attend the opening of the exhibition on
Wednesday, September 10th at 8 p.m. at Galerija Skuc.
Opening Hours Tues. - Sun. 12 am - 8 pm. Closed Mon.
image: Roman Signer: Ballon for Wasserfall (Balloon in Front of Waterfall)
1982, videostill
For further information please contact Alenka Gregoriè, artistic director,
or Gregor Podnar, curator of the exhibition, phone/fax: +386 1 421 31 40
Galerija Skuc
Stari trg 21, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
phone/fax: +386 1 421 31 40