Leni Hoffmann
26 Sep 2009 - 28 Mar 2010
LENI HOFFMANN
"RGB"
26.09.2009 – 28.03.2010
The Museum Ludwig is home to one of the world's largest collections of the Russian Avant-Garde. The artworks of Leni Hoffmann (b. 1962) seek their own answers to questions that remind us of those posed by the Suprematists and Constructivists. The works that she has developed for the Museum Ludwig refer to one of the most radical acts in the history of art: Aleksandr Rodchenko's declaration of the death of painting with his triptych in red, yellow and blue. Following this gesture he then advocated for an art that would be socially aware and nearer to everyday life. Hoffmann brings the ideas of Rodchenko and his compatriot El Lissitzky to a logical conclusion in that she releases painting from the surface of the canvas and brings it into the space of the museum. Her works have a strong architectonic character and play with our perception of space. Hoffmann infiltrates and expands upon the building by finding discreet, overlooked attributes and bringing them to our attention. The building becomes a walkable organism. Her works are site-specific and public. She makes visible the unusual elements of a familiar, everyday environment. Through her temporary "paintings in space" the art begins a dialogue among artwork, space and viewer. The colourful, geometric works invite visitors to use and become a part of them.
flipper
„flipper" transforms the entry hall into an exhibition space. By sitting down on the parts, the visitor him-/herself becomes a part of the sculpture. The circular area of modelling clay underneath the concrete benches records the footsteps of visitors throughout the run of the exhibition.
memnun oldum
Leni Hoffmann is interested in places that constantly change, like intersections. The spot directly next to the subway on the south side of the museum is one of them. A glowing cushion, visible from many angles in the direct vicinity, invites passers-by to sit and observe their surroundings or become part of the constant change.
harah
„harah" has the look of reverse glass painting, although in fact opaque modelling clay was used to meticulously close off the individual window panes. The surfaces are reminiscent of monochrome paintings, but have the change radiacally when backlit.
munka
„munka" is an independent work and at the same time inseparable from the museum space. Both the concrete slabs and the corner of the wall rupture the character of a traditional panel painting. The geometric clay surface is formed out of the smallest possible gesture, the swing of a finger.
ma
Two intensely coloured cushions change the function of the short wall and the odd slanted surface built between stairs and wall. The artist's intervention alters the roof terrace; visitors may move around as though in a walkable picture. Through their movement they change the composition.
pizzicato 42
Through the direct application of ink (cyan, yellow, magenta, key) onto paper in the running rotary press of the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, shifting, "endless" lines will appear on the pages of the newspaper. For one day in autumn, the entire issue will become a set of originals. Previously executed: 2007, Tagesspiegel Berlin; 2002, WAZ Essen.
Curator: Katia Baudin
"RGB"
26.09.2009 – 28.03.2010
The Museum Ludwig is home to one of the world's largest collections of the Russian Avant-Garde. The artworks of Leni Hoffmann (b. 1962) seek their own answers to questions that remind us of those posed by the Suprematists and Constructivists. The works that she has developed for the Museum Ludwig refer to one of the most radical acts in the history of art: Aleksandr Rodchenko's declaration of the death of painting with his triptych in red, yellow and blue. Following this gesture he then advocated for an art that would be socially aware and nearer to everyday life. Hoffmann brings the ideas of Rodchenko and his compatriot El Lissitzky to a logical conclusion in that she releases painting from the surface of the canvas and brings it into the space of the museum. Her works have a strong architectonic character and play with our perception of space. Hoffmann infiltrates and expands upon the building by finding discreet, overlooked attributes and bringing them to our attention. The building becomes a walkable organism. Her works are site-specific and public. She makes visible the unusual elements of a familiar, everyday environment. Through her temporary "paintings in space" the art begins a dialogue among artwork, space and viewer. The colourful, geometric works invite visitors to use and become a part of them.
flipper
„flipper" transforms the entry hall into an exhibition space. By sitting down on the parts, the visitor him-/herself becomes a part of the sculpture. The circular area of modelling clay underneath the concrete benches records the footsteps of visitors throughout the run of the exhibition.
memnun oldum
Leni Hoffmann is interested in places that constantly change, like intersections. The spot directly next to the subway on the south side of the museum is one of them. A glowing cushion, visible from many angles in the direct vicinity, invites passers-by to sit and observe their surroundings or become part of the constant change.
harah
„harah" has the look of reverse glass painting, although in fact opaque modelling clay was used to meticulously close off the individual window panes. The surfaces are reminiscent of monochrome paintings, but have the change radiacally when backlit.
munka
„munka" is an independent work and at the same time inseparable from the museum space. Both the concrete slabs and the corner of the wall rupture the character of a traditional panel painting. The geometric clay surface is formed out of the smallest possible gesture, the swing of a finger.
ma
Two intensely coloured cushions change the function of the short wall and the odd slanted surface built between stairs and wall. The artist's intervention alters the roof terrace; visitors may move around as though in a walkable picture. Through their movement they change the composition.
pizzicato 42
Through the direct application of ink (cyan, yellow, magenta, key) onto paper in the running rotary press of the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, shifting, "endless" lines will appear on the pages of the newspaper. For one day in autumn, the entire issue will become a set of originals. Previously executed: 2007, Tagesspiegel Berlin; 2002, WAZ Essen.
Curator: Katia Baudin