ARTISTS
Wolf Vostell: Exceptionally Ugly
The title of the exhibition is borrowed from an article by John Antony Thwaites written for the 鈥淒eutsche Zeitung鈥� in 1961 about the first exhibition of a 28-year-old artist named Wolf Vostell at the Lauhus Gallery in Cologne, Germany. The journalist, who has come from another exhibition at the Kunstverein, writes: 鈥淲hen you come from the Kunstverein, you feel as if you have drunk too much sweet champagne. The senses and feelings are not flattered; we do not take a trip to the happy islands. We are irritated, spat upon. But the effect is strange.鈥�
Without knowing his work, one would think that this is a group exhibition, since none of his works look alike at first glance. Our exhibition is a heterogeneous and certainly incomplete presentation that wants to emphasize Vostell鈥檚 plastic inventiveness, his manifold abilities to adapt his paintings to their purpose, while leaving the viewer the freedom to interpret them at will.
Understanding Vostell鈥檚 works opens the way to multiple readings. We can trace the source by digging into his memorable happenings, by reading what he wrote or what has been written in the many catalogues dedicated to the artist, or by making the connection between the political or artistic situation of the time and our own. It is also possible to be overwhelmed by perceiving them as fragments of unfinished poems or remains of ancient frescoes. But when you get to know Vostell鈥檚 work better, you quickly come to the conclusion that it is blatantly coherent.
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The title of the exhibition is borrowed from an article by John Antony Thwaites written for the 鈥淒eutsche Zeitung鈥� in 1961 about the first exhibition of a 28-year-old artist named Wolf Vostell at the Lauhus Gallery in Cologne, Germany. The journalist, who has come from another exhibition at the Kunstverein, writes: 鈥淲hen you come from the Kunstverein, you feel as if you have drunk too much sweet champagne. The senses and feelings are not flattered; we do not take a trip to the happy islands. We are irritated, spat upon. But the effect is strange.鈥�
Without knowing his work, one would think that this is a group exhibition, since none of his works look alike at first glance. Our exhibition is a heterogeneous and certainly incomplete presentation that wants to emphasize Vostell鈥檚 plastic inventiveness, his manifold abilities to adapt his paintings to their purpose, while leaving the viewer the freedom to interpret them at will.
Understanding Vostell鈥檚 works opens the way to multiple readings. We can trace the source by digging into his memorable happenings, by reading what he wrote or what has been written in the many catalogues dedicated to the artist, or by making the connection between the political or artistic situation of the time and our own. It is also possible to be overwhelmed by perceiving them as fragments of unfinished poems or remains of ancient frescoes. But when you get to know Vostell鈥檚 work better, you quickly come to the conclusion that it is blatantly coherent.
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