The SCHIRN, Frankfurt: Plastic World, June 22 - October 1, 2023
COOP HIMMELB(L)AU
From June 22 to October 1, 2023, the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt is dedicating a large thematic exhibition to the eventful history of plastic in visual art for the first time. It opens up a broad panorama of the artistic use and assessment of the material from the 1960s until today. The spectrum extends from the euphoria of pop culture to the futuristic influence of the space age, and from the trash works of Nouveau Réalisme to the ecocritical positions of recent times; it includes architectural utopias as well as experiments with material properties. Objects, assemblages, installations, films, and documentation show the diversity of the substances, forms, and materials and thus also reflect the respective social contexts.
In Austria Coop Himmelb(l)au and Hans Hollein opened up new approaches to perception and communication with temporary architectures.
On view are over 100 works from some 50 international artists, including Monira Al Qadiri, Archigram, Arman, César, Christo, Coop Himmelb(l)au, Haus-Rucker-Co, Eva Hesse, Hans Hollein, Craig Kauffman, Kiki Kogelnik, Gino Marotta, James Rosenquist, Pascale Marthine Tayou, and Pınar Yoldaş. The exhibition makes clear how plastic as a successful, multifaceted material has gone in its brief history from being an embodiment of progress, modernity, a utopian spirit, and a democratization of consumption to being a threat to the environment.
SCHIRN KUNSTHALLE FRANKFURT, Römerberg, 60311 Frankfurt/Main
Duration: June 22 - October 1, 2023