Holstebro Kunstmuseum has the great pleasure of presenting a special exhibition by US artist Lawrence Weiner (b. 1942) – undoubtedly one of the most important living artists in international contemporary art.
For the occasion, Weiner has created a large-scale exhibition project especially for the Færch Wing of the museum, and CLOSE TO A RAINBOW is the most comprehensive presentation of the artist in Denmark to date.
For the occasion, Weiner has created a large-scale exhibition project especially for the Færch Wing of the museum, and CLOSE TO A RAINBOW is the most comprehensive presentation of the artist in Denmark to date.
Lawrence Weiner’s work stems from the artistic breakthroughs of the 1960s, when avant-garde movements such as Minimalism, Fluxus and Conceptual Art gave rise to a new understanding of the purpose of visual art. At the time, there was talk of the “dematerialisation” of the artwork. This was to signal that the traditional problems of colour and form in the art object were being subjected to a more comprehensive examination of its conceptual content. In general, a focus emerged on the mechanisms of significance formation, i.e. the link between visual experiences and exchanges of meaning. Weiner was a central figure in this epoch-making reorientation, and he has for more than six decades been creating works of continuing relevance, on his own terms.
Weiner’s versatile practice encompasses performance, painting, film, artist books, sound, posters, sculpture and wall installations. He has been particularly noted for his artistic use of language and typography, which, in a radical and extremely stylish artistic practice, are transformed into statement images and textual fragments – a welcoming gesture which in fundamental ways addresses the rationales we each use to understand objective reality, geography, history, the phenomena of time and space and, not least, the social function of art. There is something existential going on everywhere, which is why the works often deal with our possibilities of finding our way in the world.
Weiner views language as a sculptural medium – as object, structure and image-creating material, all in one. In his works, he typically expresses physical conditions, in which an action is described and thereby constituted through the statement itself. For Weiner, it is often a question of highlighting the specific characteristics of an object and how the work of art can potentially be materialised. In other words, these are works in which the expression and content interact in a sophisticated manner, and where the viewer’s personal references and associations become part of the work’s communication and action.
The exhibition at Holstebro Kunstmuseum consists of ten monumental textual works, including one entirely new work, as well as a number of works on paper. Two of the works also appear in Danish translation as an open address to local visitors. The artist’s characteristic word compositions are painted directly onto the walls and floors, where, in combination, they provide a vivid impression of the artistic work.
The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue with extensive documentation, peer-reviewed articles and essays, including a summary of Weiner’s exhibition practice in Denmark to date. The catalogue will be published in autumn 2021.
