Matts Leiderstam at the Kunsthalle

Swedish installation artist Matts Leiderstam presents some of his older works (1997 to 2008) at the Kunsthalle in Düsseldorf. Inspired by the portrait and landscape painting of the 18th and 19th centuries, Leiderstam takes paintings and graphic art out of their original collection and presentation contexts, and positions them anew within institutional exhibitions. With the aid of slide projections, computer animation, optical instruments (colour filters, magnifying glasses, binoculars, etc.) and his own reproductions of originals, the artist appropriates the material, offering the viewer alternative ways of looking at visual motifs and compositions. In the context of his new installation Neanderthal Landscape he creates an archival situation for the gallery hall in which visitors can follow the development and results of his research on the Düsseldorf School of the 19th century. On exhibit are paintings from the collections of the museum kunst palast, Düsseldorf, the Stadtmuseum Düsseldorf, the Neanderthal Museum in Mettmann and the Malmö Museum of Art that have direct or indirect connections with the teachings of the landscape artist Johann Wilhelm Schirmer (1807-1863). As founder of the first landscape class at the Düsseldorf Academy of the Arts, Schirmer took his students to the nearby Valley of the Neander in the Niederbergisches Land to do open air studies. For his solo exhibition Matts Leidertsam - Seen From Here, the artist followed the traces of J.W. Schirmer, researching in the local collections and archives. The show at the Kunsthalle is being presented at the same time as the Schirmer Project 2010, devoted to the work and times of the landscape artist, in which the museum kunst palast and five further institutions from the region are participating.

Until 24 May 2010
Matts Leiderstam — Seen From Here
kunsthalle-duesseldorf.de