↳ Exhibitions

Metamorphosis Overdrive at Kunstmuseum St. Gallen

June 28, 2020

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

Simon Dybbroe Møller, Video, 2020, 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