Artists: Camille Blatrix, Timothée Calame, Rä di Martino, Simon Dybbroe Møller, Guan Xiao, Yngve Holen, Diego Perrone, Ilona Ruegg
Exhibition title: Metamorphosis Overdrive
Curated by: Lorenzo Benedetti
Venue: Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
Date: March 7 – September 20, 2020
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists and Kunstmuseum St. Gallen
Note: Press release is available here
Transformations of machines and other tools play a central role in our collective imagination. The exhibition Metamorphosis Overdrive investigates the changes and transformations of elemental and technical forms and their significance in the present moment. The artistic positions question singular objects on their actual representation value and analyze the new boundaries of sculpture from a technical and receptive point of view. Eight international artists present works that transform absurd forms into strange but familiar arrangements. They represent a prototypical aesthetic of sculpture in which everyday forms become visionary sculptures.
The presentation examines the obsession of consumer society with objects, questions their appeal, and reveals their potential for frustration. The dynamics of attraction and repulsion are inherent in the works in the exhibition. In the domain of art, obsolescence is not connotated negatively and is used as a driving force, whereas the consumer goods industry intentionally incorporates it in order to accelerate consumption. Despite their icy, standardized, industrial appearance, the works seek to establish an emotional and poetic connection with the viewer.
Metamorphosis Overdrive, Installation view Kunstmuseum St.Gallen, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Simon Dybbroe Møller, Things and the Thoughts That Think Them, 2011, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Guan Xiao, Installation view Kunstmuseum St.Gallen, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Diego Perrone, Untitled, 2018, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Diego Perrone, La notte all’indietro pesa, 2019, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Rä di Martino, Afterall, 2019, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Rä di Martino, Afterall, 2019, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Rä di Martino, Afterall, 2019, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Rä di Martino, Afterall, 2019, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Rä di Martino, Afterall, 2019, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Simon Dybbroe Møller, Video, 2020, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Simon Dybbroe Møller, Video, 2020, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Simon Dybbroe Møller, Animate V, 2012, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Simon Dybbroe Møller, Animate V, 2012, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Yngve Holen, Hater Taillight, 2016, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Guan Xiao, Lulubird slowly dipped her tongue into the ice cream, waited until it started buzzing, 2020, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Timothée Calame, Mobilier/Documentaire – Pupuces (Elegie), Mobilier/Documentaire – GenferGuru, Mobilier/Documentaire – Masculine Hard Soles & Kibbutzniks Junior, 2020, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Metamorphosis Overdrive, Installation view Kunstmuseum St.Gallen, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Metamorphosis Overdrive, Installation view Kunstmuseum St.Gallen, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Yngve Holen, Unhide The Zero, 2019, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Camille Blatrix, Wher, 2016, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Camille Blatrix, Sang, 2017, Photo: Sebastian Stadler
Camille Blatrix, Fra Francesca, 2019, Foto : Sebastian Stadler