Roman Signer
dal 6/6/2014 al 25/10/2014
Segnalato da
6/6/2014
Roman Signer
Kunstmuseum, St. Gallen
His creative process has become even more complex. The roles that things played in earlier works have now taken surprising new interpretive directions. There is a stronger sense of cross-referencing with reality, if one wishes to look for it.
curated by Roland Wäspe, Konrad Bitterli
His “small and large happenings” as he calls them, have brought him
international fame. Roman Signer, born in 1938 in Appenzell, Switzerland, has
become one of the most important sculptors in the world. The starting point
for his unique creative process is a concept of sculpture that is disengaged
from the object, making processes visible. Everyday things form the basis of
his work. The objects he uses, such as tables, chairs or kayaks have a distinct
character of their own. However, Roman Signer does not use them for their
typical functions; instead, he transforms them in a way that exposes the
multiple potential layers of meaning in their presence as physical objects.
Familiar things become strange; functional things appear absurd. Both the
exhilarating and the abysmal qualities of everyday life become visible.
Roman Signer has accrued an impressive list of exhibitions both in Switzerland
and internationally. After presenting his first retrospective in 1993 and
numerous contributions to group exhibitions, the Kunstmuseum St.Gallen is
once again presenting a comprehensive showcase of Signer’s work. The
centrepiece of the exhibition is his installation work created since 2011. It will
be exciting to see how the artist deals with the traditional museum spaces
when he returns to them after twenty years. He knows these spaces like the
back of his hand – in the early 1980s, when the museum was closed, he had
the opportunity to set up a studio there.
Roman Signer’s creative process has become even more complex. The roles
that things played in earlier works have now taken surprising new interpretive
directions. There is a stronger sense of cross-referencing with reality, if one
wishes to look for it. The content-based element of his work is significant to
Roman Signer’s lucid contemporaneity, even in pieces that can clearly be read
as existential ciphers. The exhibition combines sculptures, installations and
video works into one concise flow and moves between large-scale single
pieces and interrelated groups of works.
Image: Roman Signer, Kleine Ereignisse Hotel Castell, Zuoz, 1996, Courtesy the artist
Press Contact
Irina Wedlich
T +41 71 242 06 85
irina.wedlich@kunstmuseumsg.ch
Kunstmuseum St.Gallen
Museumstrasse 32 - CH-9000 St.Gallen
Opening hours
Tu-Su 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Wed 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Mo closed
1st August closed
Admission CHF 12
Combined ticket Kunstmuseum and Lokremise CHF 14
Free admission for members of the Kunstverein St.Gallen