Theseustempel
Edmund de Waal
30.04.2014 – 05.10.2014
On beauty
By Nina Schedlmayer
In the context of art, ceramics currently does not have the best standing: it is associated with – ugh - handcrafted objects, which do enjoy much of a reputation. Forgotten the fact that ceramics once had a veritable tradition in Austria.
The works by Edmund de Waal, yes, “The Hare with the Amber Eyes” – only shares the technique with these works. In the meantime, de Waal, who is mainly known in Austria as an author, has become a true star on the art market. He is represented by Gagosian and allegedly his works are sold for six-digit amounts. His thin-walled cups – or maybe they should be called cylinders, were displayed at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 2009, and are now to be seen in the Theseus Temple in the Vienna’s Volksgarten: He calls his diptych “Lichtzwang” (Compulsion of light) – two white glass shelves, in which the white receptacles are placed, which he has so frequently presented in varying constellations – arranged in hundreds, irregularly shaped, and in various sizes. De Waal presents a close-knit network of references, beginning with the title that was taken from a poem by Paul Celan. The white colour of the Theseus Temple, its symmetry, the relationship between stringent structure and human shape, music ranging from Bach to Glass, light – he deals with all of this and so much more. One can hardly imagine a better place for the presentation of his diptych than the Theseus Temple, where the lighting changes constantly over the course of a day – and thus, the white of the small objects that sit like birds on a wire. De Waal’s art is open for associations – and does not shy away from contributing a new chapter to the big and difficult topic of beauty.
Theseustempel
1010 Vienna, Volksgarten
Opening hourse: daily 11-19 h
300614
Theseustempel
1010 Wien, Volksgarten
https://www.khm.atÖffnungszeiten: täglich 11-18 h
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