Opening on February 15, 2007, David Zwirner is pleased to present an exhibition of new work by German artist Isa Genzken. This will be the artist's second solo exhibition at the gallery.
All of the works on display at David Zwirner were included in Genzken's recent solo exhibition at the Vienna Secession, Vienna, Austria (2006). Other recent solo exhibitions include Galerie im Taxispalais, Innsbruck, Germany; Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany; and Camden Arts Center, London, England. In 2006, Genzken participated in numerous prestigious group exhibitions including Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles, CA; Museu de Serralves, Porto, Portugal; Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Baden-Baden, Germany; Heidelberger Kunstverein, Heidelberg, Germany; Kunstverein Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany; and Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland. In 2003, she participated in the Venice Biennale and, in 2002, Documenta 11 in Kassel, Germany. In 2007, Genzken will represent Germany at the Venice Biennale from June 10 – November 21, and her work will be exhibited at Skulptur. Projekte in Munster, Munster, Germany in the summer of 2007.
Since the mid-1970s, when she emerged as a powerful successor to artists such as Sigmar Polke and Joseph Beuys, Isa Genzken has become one of the most revered sculptors in Europe. Though much of her early work–including highly-experimental sculpture, public works, and photography–has, until now, been largely underrecognized, her inclusion in the Carnegie International in 2004 and her first solo exhibition at David Zwirner in 2005, introduced her to a broader audience and cemented her status as inspiration and influence for a generation of young artists.
These new works–wheelchairs, walkers, arm chairs, figurative forms (or "soldiers") made from oversized, twisted coat hangers, and dolls under beach umbrellas–suggest a post-apocalyptic scene. Dripping paint, draped fabric and plastic, reflective surfaces and synthetic goods combine in Genzken's signature, haphazardly-deft way, resulting in intense juxtapositions. The works are hauntingly anti-modern and anti-war; a trauma scenario that provides both a political and artistic critique of contemporary culture.
In her most recent work, Genzken confronts one of the prime calamities of sculpture in the present: a terror that emerges from both the universal equivalence and exchangeability of all objects and materials… Benjamin Buchloh, Vienna Secession, 2006