Press Release

The exhibition TIME - SIGNS / TIME - SIGNED is the first institutional solo exhibition of the renowned Belgian artist group LAb[au] (Laboratory for Art and Urbanism) in Germany.
For over 25 years, the Brussels-based group has been exploring the relationship between art, language, time and technology. A recurring theme is the examination of monochrome art and the question of how it can be reinterpreted for present times.

 

 

International Archives 2nd half of 2022

Lab[au], Time Signs - Time Signed

Kunstmuseum, Heidenheim (Germany)
19.11.2022 - 26.02.2023

Français
Deutsch

Deutsch

In this context, the artists are showing the largest version to date of their work One Thousend Six Hundred Light Years at Kunstmuseum Heidenheim. It consists of a large monochrome field of radioluminescent yellow pigment that constantly emits energy. The half-life of the material is around 1600 years, so that the work will be extinguished after this time. Thus, visitors can not only experience the intense colour, but are also encouraged to think about the passing of time. Works that play with the oxidation of copper and lead, black squares that turn white depending on the room climate, or visual representations of centuries also bring temporal aspects into abstract art.

In addition to colour, the artist group is intensively concerned with language and its translation into other systems. Like a lexicographer, LAb[au] creates entire series of books to explore infinite combinations of forms and indexes all possible ways to fill a blank white page. With their rule-based approach, the artists question materiality, process and the concept of art.
Frequently, chance also becomes a model of thought and co-producer of art. For example, a text-based work can be seen on the façade of the Kunstmuseum. Letters are randomly selected one after the other until a word can be read. This will then be read for exactly as long as it took to form it. This may take a minute or several weeks, or it may not happen at all.

For over 25 years LAb[au] explores the relationship between art and language. For their first institutional solo show in Germany, the collective has put together a set of works, specially conceived for the rooms of the Kunstmuseum Heidenheim. Focusing on the monochrome, the artists are concerned with its legacy and how its meanings can be restored in our actual world.

" A highlight of the show is the largest version of their work, One Thousand Six Hundred Light Years. It consists of a large field of radioluminescent yellow pigment that constantly emits energy and will be extinguished in around 1600 years. Visitors can thus not only experience the intense colour, but are also encouraged to reflect on the passing of time. Surrounding this field are works that at first glance are merely black and white. Behind each work, however, is a fascinating cosmos of thought. When, for example, photocopiers are used to produce one-offs, ultra-black pigment makes the layers of a triptych disappear, or thermochromatic pigment transforms black into white; this shows how LAb[au] continues the theories of colour field painting with 21st-century techniques."

Marco Hompes director of Heidenheim art museum

Exhibition 19 November 2022 - 26 February 2023. Kunstmuseum Heidenheim, Marienstraße 4 - 89518 Heidenheim a. d. Brenz – Heidenheim (Germany). Hours : Tuesday, Thursday-Sunday 11:00 – 17:00 – Midday 13:00 – 19:00.

 

 

 

 

© ArtCatalyse International / Marika Prévosto 2022. All Rights Reserved