Unterschiedswesen

Von Bartha will present a group exhibition, Unterschiedswesen, in its S-chanf space, 28 December 2019 – 29 February 2020. The exhibition brings together works by Heidi Bucher, Julia Haller, Imi Knoebel, Oliver Laric, Caroline Mesquita, Sam Moyer, Sarah Oppenheimer and Danh V?, and is curated by Fabian Schöneich.

From the fragmentary works and glassworks by Sam Moyer, the shaped canvases of Imi Knoebel, mineral composite boards by Julia Haller, and Danh Vo’s arrangement of painting, photography and writing, an idea of abstract corporeality is developed. The works become increasingly figurative via the stylistically disparate sculptures of Oliver Laric, Caroline Mesquita, and Sarah Oppenheimer. “Body Shells” by Heidi Bucher merges abstraction and figuration with a video work showing the body sculptures created by Bucher in 1972 in Venice Beach.

The title of the exhibition, Unterschiedswesen, is borrowed from the 1907 essay “The Metropolis and Mental Life” by German sociologist Georg Simmel. In that text, Simmel describes how people living in the city differ from people in the countryside in their direct perception of their environment. He writes: “Man is a creature whose existence is dependent on differences; that is, his mind is stimulated by the difference between present impressions and those which have preceded.” In this sense, he describes how people who arecharacterised by the tempo of the city are different from those shaped by the quiet and slower pace of rural life. It is the term “creature of difference” that is interesting. Simply put, the term describes human nature as being different and yet the same; in doing so, it examines the diversity that shapes our world and our societies.

The exhibition Unterschiedswesen, however, is less about urban sociology than about the diversity of artistic creation. There are connections - the most basic ones being terms that come from art history: abstraction, fragmentation, corporeality, sculpture, painting - and yet the artists’ works, as well as their working methods, are entirely different from each other. Unterschiedswesen can be seen as an exhibition presenting a small selection of current artistic production, while at the same time celebrating the diversity within the contemporary arts. It underlines the importance of looking closely, being curious and open-minded, and reflecting – whether it be on painting, photography, sculpture, or culture, society, and politics. 

Artists:
Heidi Bucher
Julia Haller
Imi Knoebel
Oliver Laric
Caroline Mesquita
Sam Moyer
Sarah Oppenheimer
Danh V?

Curated by Fabian Schöneich