Ugo Rondinone, Venue: Eva Presenhuber, Zurich, Exhibition Title: Kiss Now Kill Later, Date: September 2 – October 29. 2011
The vast open space, the huge, detailed illustrations, and the scattered, whimsical birds all come together for a storybook fantasy atmosphere. His title strikes a kind of evil tone, but maybe appropriate when you consider the grisly details in the original Grimm tales.
Ugo Rondinone, drittermaerzzweitausendundelf, 2011. Ink on paper, plexiglass plaque with caption. Unique, 272 x 427 x 3 cm. ©the artist. Photo© Stefan Altenburger Photography, Zürich. Courtesy of Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich.
Rondinone has been creating these monochromatic drawings since the 1990’s. They are traditionally made in a sketchbook, then reproduced on a large scale using a slide projector.
Ugo Rondinone at Eva Presenhuber, Zurich
There are 30 birds in the “flock”, all under 6″ in height. From the press release:
“Their appearance is that of birds, but their character is not. The titles of the bird sculptures refer to natural phenomena. In this way, they represent the natural world outside the artistic space. Their presentation within the group conveys the idea that those non-descript birds stand for more important events.” –VernissageTV, Zürich
Ugo Rondinone at Eva Presenhuber, Zurich
And a final detail that I admire, of course, is the stained glass piece, set into the wall and illuminated by natural light. It is a clock, with no hands. Hmmm. How do you tell the time when it is cloudy? Could it be a sun? Anyway, I love the precision of the work and the wide zinc (I’m guessing zinc) trim.
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