Bice Curiger

This catalog documents an exhibit devoted to Georgia O’Keeffe mounted by the Kunsthaus Zürich from October 24, 2003 to February 1, 2004. The show was a sign that O’Keeffe had been admitted to the pantheon of great modern artists in Europe after long enjoying this status in North America.
Along with more than seventy of O’Keeffe’s paintings and drawings were photographs of her, notably those by her promoter and husband, Alfred Stieglitz. Although his figure studies contributed to a show more reductionist interpretation of her flower paintings, my take after reading the essays in this book is that these were not exploitation but that O’Keeffe worked with Stieglitz in forming her public persona. Her life, her work, and the photos interpret each other. Taken together, they present the image of an autonomous personality.
The essays by Bice Curiger, Carter Ratcliff, and Peter J. Schneemann reiterate this. While the reading “flowers equal genitalia” is too simplistic, it seems that O’Keeffe’s denial of this view should not be taken at face value either.
The book includes “Momentaufnahmen,” short reactions by sixteen artists. While most are positive, some indicate they admire the person and what she represents more than the work. This seems related to her delayed reception in Europe. Her work is too abstract to be representational, too representational to be abstract.
O’Keeffe has been a favorite since I first saw her paintings in the 1960s. I enjoyed the Zurich retrospective, a mix of familiar work and many I hadn’t seen before. And I’m glad I can revisit the exhibit through the pages of this book. show less

Friedrich Kuhn (1926–72) was a leading painter in the Swiss pop art movement of the 1950s and ‘60s, often called the Zürich School of the Little Mad World. Kuhn’s unusual work showcases his desire to create an individual style of painting that lies between figurative and abstract, while being laced with idiosyncratic references to modern and popular culture. Kuhn’s personality as a raucous maverick has often overshadowed serious interpretations of his work; Friedrich Kuhn allows us show more for the first time to consider both the legend and the art in context. Designed to accompany a vast retrospective exhibition of Kuhn’s work at the Kunsthaus Zürich, this richly illustrated book reassesses Kuhn’s paintings as early ambassadors of Swiss art that prefigured trends that continue to shape the international art world today. Including many previously unpublished paintings and photographs of Kuhn’s art and performances, the book also presents new essays investigating his work and the myths surrounding his life story.

Friedrich Kuhn (1926-1972) gilt als markantester Schweizer Vertreter jener Kunstszene, die sich in den 1960er Jahren als Gegenkraft zur damals dominanten abstrakten/konkreten Kunst formierte. Kuhn schuf eine feinnervige und anarchische Malerei zwischen Figuration und Abstraktion, die auch persönlich besetzte Zitate an die moderne Massenkultur und an Pop enthält. Verehrt und legenden umflort, ist sein malerisches Werk bisher im Hinblick auf die literarische Überhöhung seiner Person dargestellt worden.Der neue Katalog legt nun die künstlerische Aktualität dieses eigenwilligen Malers offen. Das Buch erzählt von der nonkonformistischen Szene, in der Kuhn bewegte, schildert seine eigenwilligen Happenings und wilden Performances und entwirft so ein lebendiges Bild der 1960er Jahre. Neben 100 Werken sind auch zahlreiche unveröffentlichte Privatfotos und Plakate abgebildet. Kuhns Kunst, der im internationalen Umfeld eine Vorreiterrolle zukommt, weist in ihrem Reichtum und ihrem akademischen Geist bereits jene Charakteristiken auf, welche die spätere Schweizer Kunst bis heute bestimmen. show less

Birth of the Cool presents art that developed in subtle deviation from the familiar movements of 20th century American painting through retaining their main characteristics as points of reference. The accentuation of the surface, the breaking up of illusionistic space, the opening up of the painting's format to new dimensions in space and time are the lasting constants of American painting. The American tradition in painting is a tradition that is both sensual and severe, intellectual and show more emotional and above all open to modern society.
Published on the occasion of the exhibition 'Birth of the Cool', Amerikanische Malerei : von Georgia O'Keeffe bis Christopher Wool : 14. Februar - 11. Mai 1997, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, 18. Juni - 7. September 1997, Kunsthaus Zürich show less

The publication Heads, kisses, battles. Nicole Eisenman and the Moderns accompanies the exhibition tour realized by the Aargauer Kunsthaus in cooperation with three European partner institutions, the Kunsthalle Bielefeld (D), the Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles (F) and the Kunstmuseum Den Haag (NL).

In close exchange with Nicole Eisenman (*1965 in Verdun/F, lives in New York/USA), an unusual and unique project was conceived in which Eisenman’s œuvre enters into a dialogue with works from show more the modern era. The latter come from the collections of the participating institutions.

In addition to numerous illustrations of Eisenman’s works and historical positions, the publication contains an introduction to the exhibition project, a roundtable discussion on the exhibition concept with Bice Curiger, Daniel Koep, Kolja Reichert and Beate Söntgen, and an essay by Christina Végh on Nicole Eisenman’s work. In the form of a glossary, various terms are discussed in relation to Eisenman’s work, but also in a more general art historical context. Finally, the contributions on the respective collection holdings and the short comments on individual modernist artists serve to contextualize the selected historical works from the participating museums.

Nicole Eisenman, born 1965 in France, lives in New York, and her work is captivating because of its fascination with the human condition, questions about interpersonal interaction, and the precise observation of processes of alienation in civilisation. In her drawings, paintings, and sculptures, the artist combines elements from pop cultural contexts (political satire, comics) with traditional art historical references to form a new unity. Köpfe, Küsse, Kämpfe (Heads, Kisses, Struggles) brings together works from all of Eisenman’s creative periods. Against the backdrop of her artistic practice, in which various stylistic and compositional elements of historical painting become visible alongside pop-cultural influences, the show and the book are combined with works of classical modernism from the collections of the cooperating museums. Through these selectively introduced historical works, the exhibition and the book, together with Eisenman’s oeuvre, open up a resonance space spanning a century in which social upheavals are presented in their urgency, but also with hope and confidence. show less