
Wolfgang Laib. The Beginning of Something Else
Wolfgang Laib creates his subtle works in an exchange with the natural environment and in tune with the seasons. Whether it be gathering pollen for his famous minimalistic, luminous yellow floor works or the lengthy production of his sculptures made of beeswax—respect for nature is the artist’s driving force. Since the late 1970s, Laib’s thinking and art have posed questions about our being and actions as part of fragile living habitats and in this respect could not be more topical.
In this exhibition developed in collaboration with Wolfgang Laib, the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart is presenting pieces from the most important work complexes in each of the artist’s creative phases. On view are, for instance, “Rice Houses” and “Ziggurats,” a selection of drawings, as well as a pollen field. The exhibition also features Laib’s latest works, the “Towers of Silence.” It thus ties in with an important focus of the collection, since Laib is represented in the Kunstmuseum’s holdings with several exemplary works, and his “Wax Room,” permanently installed since 2005 (in the collection basement), is one of seven rooms of this kind in existence worldwide.
Film
Wolfgang Laib was born in 1950 in Metzingen, Germany, and has lived in a small village near Biberach in Baden-Württemberg for over thirty years. For the first time, a film, realized in connection with the exhibition, shows the artist at work in Upper Swabia and at his second home, in southern India, documenting these spheres of life that are relevant to his creative work. The film by director Maria Anna Tappeiner is on view at the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart from July 20, 2023 onwards, during regular opening hours.
Book
The publication accompanying the exhibition is an exceptional and personal book. In it, the artist brings together texts and images that are of particular importance to his thinking and artistic work. Among them are passages from the Epic of Gilgamesh, a poem about the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma, and quotes from the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and the American artist Agnes Martin. A variety of illustrations complement the texts, be they private photos, images of Parsi rituals, or installation views of his own art works. The book offers a new approach to the work of Wolfgang Laib.
Wolfgang Laib. The Beginning of Something Else
Hirmer Verlag
362 pages, German/English
ISBN 978-3-7774-4228-0
ISBN 978-3-7774-4196-2
Museum 39 € / Book Retail N.N.
You can order the catalog bestellungen [at] kunstmuseum-stuttgart [dot] de (by mail) according to our terms and conditions and stating your billing and shipping address. After placing your order an invoice will be sent to you. We will ship as soon as we receive your payment. Shipping costs within Germany: 4,90 €
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