28 Nov 2011

«Appearance in Super System» by Robert Estermann at Collins Park, Miami Beach

In 'Appearance in Super System', Robert Estermann raises questions about the conditions in which art is made, as a form of action based on aesthetic speculation. With the help of some lightweight props, Estermann and his assistant will hold a series of scheduled events in the form of performative lectures in the Collins Park and at the nearby beach, as well as taking part in numerous encounters with individual people during Art Basel Miami Beach. These include 'Appearances,' in which individuals are asked to figure out and to perform a subtle gesture or a movement of their body that they have never done before, as a 'rite of passage' to the realization of themselves as speculative beings. All these events will be documented in the blog appearanceinsupersystem.info.

Known for his drawings, performances, and installations, Estermann regards the gesture as having the sense of a radical claim, and also urgency, as it becomes an increasingly versatile aesthetic tool of translation between artistic, social, and scientific expression. In an age of touch sensitive electronic devices, human gestures are supposed to have more power than ever before. What happens when people reinvest the same powerful gestures back into the physical space?

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Robert Estermann (*1970, Sursee, lives in Berlin and Zurich), studied at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, and the Jan van Eyck Akademie, Maastricht. Solo exhibitions took place (amongst others) at the following institutions and galleries: Espace d'art contemporain (les halles), Porrentruy (CH) (2010); Agnès b. Gallery, Hong Kong (2010); Hilfiker Kunstprojekte, Lucerne (2011 and 2009); Museum of Art Lucerne (2007); Galerie du Jour agnès b., Paris (2002 and 2008). Further, he participated in various group exhibitions such as: Kunsthaus Aarau (CH) (2011), Musée Rath, Geneva (2010); Museum of Art, Solothurn (CH) (2008 and 2010); Helmhaus Zurich (2006); Brandenburgischer Kunstverein (DE) (2006); 11th Biennial of Visual Arts, Pancevo (Serbia) (2004); De Appel Foundation, Amsterdam (2001); Total Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul (1999). www.estermann.com