Gustav Metzger
dal 27/9/2009 al 7/11/2009
Segnalato da
27/9/2009
Gustav Metzger
Serpentine Gallery, London
Decades 1959-2009. The exhibition draws together the themes and methodologies that have informed the London-based artist's practice from 1959 until the present day. The broad cross-section of works on view include Metzger's auto-destructive and auto-creative works of the 1960s, such as his pioneering liquid crystal projections; the ongoing Historic Photographs series, which responds to major events and catastrophes; and later works exploring ecological issues, globalisation and commercialisation.
The exhibition is curated by Julia Peyton-Jones, Director, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director, and Sophie O’Brien, Curator, Serpentine Gallery.
The Serpentine Gallery presents a major survey of work from six decades
by the influential artist and activist Gustav Metzger.
Metzger’s practice represents a life-long involvement in left-wing politics,
ecology, and the creative and destructive powers of twentieth and twentyfirst century industrialised societies. This is the first time such an extensive
overview of Metzger’s work has been presented in the UK. Metzger has
worked closely with the Serpentine Gallery to examine his own archives and
those kept by institutions, identifying milestone works from his career and
developing new works specifically for this exhibition.
The exhibition draws together the threads of Metzger’s practice from 1959
to 2009. Exploring archives, locally and abroad, the exhibition brings the
themes and methodologies that have informed the artist’s practice for over
sixty years to a new generation, who themselves have witnessed the effects
of industrialisation, capitalism and globalisation in recent world events.
A broad cross-section of Metzger’s work is presented, including the autodestructive and auto-creative works of the 1960s such as the pioneering use of liquid crystals projections; the Historic Photographs series, which
respond to major events and catastrophes of the twentieth century, and
works exploring ecological issues, globalisation and commercialisation. Film
footage of seminal performances and actions is also shown.
A central feature of the exhibition is MASS MEDIA: Yesterday and Today
(2009), a participative installation using a large archive of newspapers,
which Metzger has been collecting since 1995. Members of the public are
invited to have a hands-on experience of the newspaper collection, by
participating in the making of this new work at the Gallery.
Several works, which no longer exist due to their ephemeral or autodestructive nature, have been recreated following the artists’ instructions and other works have been commissioned specifically for the exhibition.
Following the exhibition, the Serpentine Gallery is staging a groundbreaking twoday conference on the subject of extinction, the Mass Extinction Conference: A Call
to Act (18-19 February 2010).
Gustav Metzger’s work focuses on the relationship between destruction and
creation. Metzger co-organised the seminal Destruction in Art Symposium (DIAS)
in London in 1966 and, like that event, this conference will largely be concerned with
human destructivity. It aims to present an overarching perspective on extinction,
which will reflect on art, aesthetics, poetry and music, as well as economics and
science. The event is curated by Gustav Metzger, with Sir Ghillean Prance FRS
acting as Science Advisor. The conference is being organised in collaboration with
the Royal Society, as part of the events to celebrate the Society’s 350th anniversary
year, and is in association with the Natural History Museum.
Gustav Metzger
Born in Nuremberg, Germany in 1926 to Polish-Jewish parents, Gustav
Metzger was evacuated to England with his brother Max/Mendel as part of
the Kindertransport in 1939. From 1945 to 1953 Metzger studied at various
art schools in Cambridge, London, including David Bomberg’s class at the
Borough Polytechnic, Antwerp and Oxford. In 1959 he developed the
concept of auto-destructive art, proposing works which could self-destruct,
to reflect political and social systems spiralling towards annihilation. Autodestructive art also concerned the use of time as a medium in art, exploring
the passing of time in the slow disintegration of a sculpture, for example, or
the rapid disappearance of painting by acid. In a 1961 action, three large
coloured nylon ‘canvases’ were sprayed with acid on London's
Southbank and in the process, creating as well as destroying.
In 1959, Metzger abandoned painting and used everyday objects such as
cardboard packing materials, newspapers, and polythene bags with paper
and fabric scraps. These readymades demonstrated both the creative
potential of Machine Art and a critique of the inherent wastage of
consumerism. In 1966 Metzger co-organised the Destruction in Art
Symposium (DIAS) in London, featuring contributions by Ivor Davies, Juan
Hidalgo, John Latham, Yoko Ono, Ralph Ortiz, John Sharkey, Biff [Graham]
Stevens, Wolf Vostell and the Viennese Actionists, who were performing
outside Austria for the first time.
Metzger has been ahead of his time via his use of industrial materials and
concern for environmental issues, and continues to exert a strong influence
on his contemporaries. Metzger considers his political activities to be an
integral part of his artistic concerns. He was a founder member of the
Committee of 100 with Bertrand Russell, the Reverend Michael Scott and
Ralph Schoenmann. Metzger has been consistent in his opposition to
capitalism, and his stance against globalised capitalism has informed much
of his work.
The Serpentine Gallery has collaborated closely with Gustav Metzger on a
number of projects since 2006, including the Interview Marathon 2006,
Experiment Marathon in both London and Reykjavik 2007 and the Manifesto
Marathon 2008. Metzger also spoke at the Serpentine’s On the Conditions of
Politics conference in 2007.
Gustav Metzger’s Flailing Trees, commissioned by Manchester International Festival
09, has been acquired by the Whitworth Art Gallery and placed opposite the
entrance to the gallery. This is Metzger’s only permanent outdoor work. In its
original form, 21 inverted willows placed into a concrete platform stood in the
Manchester Peace Garden throughout the Festival.
Image: Gustav Metzger, Eichmann and the Angel 2005. Industrial conveyor belt, wall of Guardian newspapers and reproduction of Paul Klee's Angelus Novus 1920. Commissioned by Cubitt, Installation at Lunds Konsthall, Sweden. Photograph Lunds Konsthall/Terje Östling © 2009 Gustav Metzger. Courtesy the artist and Emanuel von Baeyer - London
For press information, contact:
Tom Coupe, 020 7298 1544, tomc@serpentinegallery.org
Fleur Treglown, 020 7298 1528, fleur@serpentinegallery.org
Serpentine Gallery
Kensington Gardens London W2 3XA
Open daily, 10am - 6pm
Admission free