Das Wunder des Lebens
Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys
Published by Sternberg Press, Berlin, 2014, 477 pages (colour & b/w ill.), 30 × 29 cm, English / German
Price: €25

Like a pictorial encyclopedia, Das Wunder des Lebens contains over four hundred drawings that show all that the modern world has to offer, from maps and city views to cars and airplanes. However, unlike conventional pictorial dictionaries, there is no symbolic system.

Copublished with Kunsthalle Wien and Kunsthalle Basel on the occasion of the eponymous exhibition at the former, 7 February–4 May, 2014, and Projekt 13 at the latter, 16 January–14 March, 2010.

Designed by Antoine Begon and Boy Vereecken.

#2014 #antoinebegon #boyvereecken #josdegruyterandharaldthys #kunsthallebasel #kunsthallewien #sternbergpress
I'm Isa Genzken, the Only Female Fool
Isa Genzken
Published by Sternberg Press, Berlin, 2014, 114 pages (colour & b/w ill.), 14.3 × 21 cm, English/German
Price: €35 (Out of stock)

Copublished with Kunsthalle Wien on the occasion of Isa Genzken’s exhibition I’m Isa Genzken, the Only Female Fool, 28 May–7 September, 2014.

“The Only Female Fool” is how Isa Genzken describes herself in the self-chosen title of her exhibition at the Kunsthalle Wien. This statement is typical of the fluid boundaries between deep seriousness and the exuberant, eccentric spirit that pervades her work. Genzken’s artistic practice is characterized by a wide spectrum of media and forms, although her roots in sculpture always remain visible. The exhibition and catalogue focus on specific aspects of her oeuvre, including the mirror motif, the examination of architecture, and space as a social sphere; where early works are juxtaposed with series from later creative periods. Genzken’s collaboration with other artists and her admiration for certain artistic positions is also brought into focus, and selected works by Dan Graham, Gordon Matta-Clark, Jasper Johns, Gerhard Richter, Wolfgang Tillmans, and Lawrence Weiner are presented in dialogue with Genzken’s multilayered work.

Design by Kummer & Herrman.

#2014 #isagenzken #kunsthallewien #sternbergpress
The Weather is Quiet, Cool, and Soft
Guy Mees
Published by Sternberg Press, Berlin, 2018, 188 pages (colour & b/w ill.), 20 × 26 cm, English
Price: €25

Guy Mees’s (1935–2003) photographs, videos, and above all his fragile works on paper are characterized by a formal rigor combined with sensitivity and delicacy. The uniqueness of his oeuvre lies precisely in its avoidance of conventional aesthetics and discursive classifications. A leading figure of the Belgian avant-garde, Mees left behind an outstanding body of work that transgresses geometric abstraction, Minimalism, Conceptualism, and applied art.

The Weather is Quiet, Cool, and Soft is published on the occasion of the eponymous exhibition at Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (February 1–April 8, 2018), and at Mu.ZEE, Ostend (November 25, 2018–March 10, 2019). Borrowed from a note the artist jotted down on one of his works on paper, the title pays homage to the atmospheric impermanence of Mees’s works, as well as his infra-ordinary, relativistic, and poetic approach.

Edited by Lilou Vidal. Texts by François Piron, Fernand Spillemaeckers, Lilou Vidal, Wim Meuwissen, Dirk Snauwaert, Micheline Szwajcer. Copublished with Kunsthalle Wien. Designed by Joris Kritis.

Lilou Vidal, curator of the exhibition and François Piron, art critic, curator and editor, to discuss Guy Mees’ work here.

#2018 #dirksnauwaert #guymees #joriskritis #kunsthallewien #lilouvidal #sternbergpress
I can't nail the days down
Kate Newby
Published by Sternberg Press, Berlin, 2019, 140 pages (colour & b/w ill.), clothbound hardcover, 18.5 × 26.5 cm, English
Price: €24

Produced on the occasion of Kate Newby’s exhibition I can’t nail the days down at the Kunsthalle Wien, 16 May–2 September 2018.

Kate Newby’s works are poetic confrontations with spatial conditions and the fleeting nature of interactions. Through small as well as radical interventions into existing environments, she directs our view to what is often overlooked in everyday life. The objects she creates are testimonials to individual experiences, with the specific context of creation remaining inseparably linked to the resulting work.

For the exhibition at Kunsthalle Wien Karlsplatz, Newby continues her ongoing engagement with ephemeral and often peripheral situations. Therefore she created a large-scale work installed on the floor in the Karlsplatz building, using bricks as artistic material. For this work, the artist modified unfired bricks and inserted found elements: shattered glass fragments left behind as a result of people spending time outdoors in the Karlsplatz area, and bits of clay collected when the subway was constructed.

Introduction by Nicolaus Schafhausen and texts by Juliane Bischoff, Christina Barton and Chris Kraus.

#chriskraus #katenewby #kunsthallewien #nicolausschafhausen #sternbergpress