Off the Grid

Patterns, grids and geometric structures generate order and clarity, directing the focus from the whole to the individual. In a repetition of the open and simultaneously closed form, new connections between its elements may be recognised. Consequently, grids are a recurring, fascinating motif in the history of art. While concrete and conceptual artists particularly appreciate their formal rigour, others see them as being a reflection of the social patterns that structure our living environment, architecture, landscapes and media.

In itself, the selection for the exhibition “Off the Grid” lays a grid over the Lambrecht-Schadeberg and contemporary art collections at the Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen. It is devoted to artistic strategies that utilise the grid or geometric forms as a tool of cognition. In some works, the grid has a structuring effect and in others, it is deliberately broken up in order to explore additional themes.

Alongside painterly gestures by Sigmar Polke, Bridget Riley, Cy Twombly and Niele Toroni, the focus is on long unexhibited, space-consuming works by Katharina Grosse, Hans Haacke, Juan Maidagan and Dolores Zinny as well as Apolonija Šušteršič. These and other exhibits will be complemented by new acquisitions being shown for the first time – photographic compositions by Laurenz Berges, Sung Tieu and Ursula Schulz-Dornburg.

Like grids, collections may serve as orientation and create connections, but they can also be perceived as rigid systems. “Off the Grid” invites visitors to break out of the grid and openly question the settings in the artworks and in the space.

With works by
Bernd und Hilla Becher, Laurenz Berges, Vajiko Chachkhiani, Rupprecht Geiger, Katharina Grosse , Hans Haacke, Nancy Holt, Juan Maidagan und Dolores Zinny, Sigmar Polke, Bridget Riley, Ursula Schulz-Dornburg, Apolonija Šušteršič, Sung Tieu, Niele Toroni, Cy Twombly und Stephen Willats.

Curator
Thomas Thiel

Assistant curator
Jessica Schiefer

• Press release “Off the Grid” (.pdf)

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