Monument for a Statue

The artist I have invited to provide the current exhibit at Künstlerverein Malkasten in Düsseldorf is Matthias Grotevent. The title of the exhibition, “Monument for a Statue”, suggests a figure on a plinth, a historical record of past cultures. With his work  SPACE LORD  MOTHER MOTHER the artist is however not aiming to establish a specific reference to traditional representations of the human figure; rather, by combining his previous artistic explorations he has condensed the relationship in particular between his sculptural and his painted work.  In the glass case in the foyer of the Hentrichhaus he presents a hollow plaster object, rectangular and tapering in shape, which is supported by two steel beams. The inside of the sculpture is smooth, while its exterior presents a rough and jagged texture. Its appearance is reminiscent of a toppled plinth, or perhaps a loudspeaker. The title of the work is a text fragment from a song by the band Monster Magnet; the song however is not to be heard, rendering it a reference to that which is absent. On the ground below the described element lies a two-coloured fragment of an oversized figurative drawing by Matthias Grotevent. For this piece the artist has translated the sketched body to a new material. Neon light now radiates up from the ground, over the plinth and into the entire room, dividing the exhibition space into a green and a neutral area. This location-specific installation alludes to the vertical as a characteristic property of the statue. Marie Ogoshi