Intro
Under Destruction
Museum Tinguely, Basel
15 October 2010–23 January 2011
Content
Under Destruction is a group exhibition that examined the use and role of destruction in contemporary art. Fifty years after Jean Tinguely's historic Homage to New York (1960) the exhibition proposed a series of alternative approaches to a theme traditionally associated with the more spectacular and inherently protest-oriented work of Jean Tinguely, Gustav Metzger and others in the 50s and 60s.
The exhibition reflected on the subject from a series of angles, perceiving destruction as everything from a generative force to environmental memento mori, and from consumer fallout to a form of poetic transformation. Predominantly kinetic, the show largely consisted of works whose mechanisms revealed themselves in real time to the viewer. The strikingly spectacular nature of some works was complemented by an unexpected sense for subtlety and quietude in other works, the combination of both progressively revealing the rich diversity of destruction in contemporary art.
Co-curated by Chris Sharp
The show traveled to Swiss Institute in New York, where it was shown in three consecutive parts, lasting from April 6 to August 7 2011.
Artists
Nina Beier & Marie Lund, Monica Bonvicini, Pavel Büchler, Nina Canell, Jimmie Durham, Alex Hubbard, Alexander Gutke, Martin Kersels, Michael Landy, Liz Larner, Christian Marclay, Kris Martin, Ariel Orozco, Michael Sailstorfer, Arcangelo Sassolino, Jonathan Schipper, Ariel Schlesinger, Roman Signer, Johannes Vogl
Press
Catalogue
