Roman Signer at Hauser & Wirth (Switzerland)

[Randy]

ROMAN SIGNER
Curated by Michaela Unterdörfer

May 11 – October 12, 2003
Press Preview Thursday May 8, 2003 at 11.00 a.m.
Opening Saturday May 10, 2003 at 3.00 p.m.

Hauser & Wirth Collection
Grünbergstr. 7, CH-9001 St. Gallen
Infoline: +41 71 228 55 55, Fax: +41 71 228 55 59
email: Info@lokremise.ch, http://www.lokremise.ch

The Hauser & Wirth Collection in St. Gallen, Switzerland, is pleased to present a comprehensive exhibition by Roman Signer (born in Appenzell, Switzerland, 1938, lives in St. Gallen).

The solo show comprises an overview of the artistic work of Roman Signer from the 1971 until the present. It includes early water objects, his super-8 films made between 1975 and 1989, major sculptures and installations from the 1980s and 90s, video works and photographs, as well as over a dozen new works developed specially for the exhibition. In addition Roman Signer will present new actions both at the opening and during the course of the exhibition, Saturday, August 23, 2003.

Although he is known to many for his spectacular actions with dynamite – transformation, explosions and demolition are only one side of Roman Signer’s artistic work. Signer explores the relationships between sudden energy release and stillness, between order and chaos, and the existence of form in the apparently formless. Building on the principles of Minimal Art and Concept Art, Signer takes them further. Since the 1970s he has incorporated factors such as time, acceleration and the modification of materials into his own creative process, investigating new ways of making sculpture.

Since the early 1990s, the Hauser & Wirth Collection has consistently been building up an important body of works by Roman Signer, with numerous works and ensembles.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a three-volume publication with the artist`s own commentaries and descriptions of his works from 1971 to 2002. About 1500 pages in length, it will be issued in separate English and German editions. Editor: Peter Zimmermann, Zürich; Publisher: Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Cologne.

For information
Hauser & Wirth Collection, Tel. +41 71 228 55 50, Fax: +41 71 228 55 59, email: Info@lokremise.ch, http://www.lokremise.ch