[artinfo] The Middelheim Museum presents Long Live Sculpture!

[e-Flux]

The Middelheim Museum presents
Long Live Sculpture!
Until September 3rd

Middelheim Museum
Middelheimlaan 61
B-2020 Antwerp
Tel. 0032 3 827 15 34
<
http://museum.antwerpen.be> http://museum.antwerpen.be


Artists:
JEONGHWA CHOI (KO) - KATHARINA FRITSCH (D) - 
FOLKERT DE JONG (NL) - PHILIP METTEN (B) - 
YOSHITOMO NARA (J) - PATRICIA PICCININI (AUS) - 
THOMAS RENTMEISTER (D) - PETER ROGIERS (B) - 
THOMAS SCHÜTTE (D) - RICKY SWALLOW (AUS) - 
ISKENDER YEDILER (D)

The Middelheim Museum in Antwerp presents the 
group exhibition Long Live Sculpture!. Eleven 
national and international artists give a current 
interpretation of the sculptural discipline.

Lately, things have been moving in the realm of 
sculpture. For a while, it seemed banished from 
the museum to the public space. Furthermore, it 
threatened to become unrecognisable, as 
practically all other artistic genres had 
three-dimensional ambitions: think of the spatial 
ways of presenting video-art or conceptual 
installations. But today it re-conquers its own 
unique identity. And it unmistakably claims its 
place next to painting and other means of 
expression as a discipline that might take on 
many forms, but nonetheless is very much alive. 
The Middelheim Museum wants to give this 
development the attention it deserves.

The participating artists were not only invited 
because they give sculpture an intriguing 
contemporary face. They were also asked to 
reflect on the theme of “consolation”. In 
response, some of them created a whole new piece, 
while for others it was part of what they had 
been doing for years.

Consolation is something we have all experienced. 
The artist deals with it in his own way, foremost 
weighing this question: does he choose to console 
his public, or will he deny them any consolation 
at all?

Long Live Sculpture! gathers a great variety 
among the artists. Some have worked with more 
traditional materials such as wood or bronze, 
others went to work with silicone and polyester. 
Nature was a source of inspiration, but so were 
comics and Hollywood movies. Some of the pieces 
are gigantic, others very small. Together, these 
works of art make a titillating exhibition.