31 May 2012

Benjamin Patterson: Born in the State of FLUX/us at Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden

As the only European venue, the Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden, in cooperation with the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, shows the retrospective Benjamin Patterson: Born in the State of FLUX/us. The exhibition presents the highlight of the 50th anniversary year of the legendary 'International Fluxus Festival of the Newest Music' in Wiesbaden.

The artistic work of BENJAMIN PATTERSON (*1934, Pittsburgh USA), double bass player, co-organizer of the Wiesbaden Fluxus Festival and initial member of FLUXUS, combines music, composition, performance, objects, found materials, autobiographic and socio-political issues in unique way.

The exhibition at Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden offers an overview of Patterson's dense œuvre, which extends to more than 50 years. Interrelating an art-historical review and contemporary art practice, early contributions to the Fluxus movement will be displayed alongside previously unseen pieces from the artist's studio, which are on display for the first time.

Another exclusive feature within the retrospective at Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden is the SPIELRAUM, which provides space for spontaneous actions, presentations and performances of Patterson and/or artist friends and colleagues. Benjamin Patterson will curate the program within his own retrospective, making the review of his life's work and the actionist intervention face each other as equals.

Following the first Mail-Art-Actions Fluxus moreover becomes not only physical, but also digital as a 'collective episode' (Patterson) that can be experienced as a public opinion poll on Fluxus on the Internet, with a questionnaire sketched out by Patterson specifically for the exhibition at the Nassauischer Kunstverein.


Benjamin Patterson: Born in the State of FLUX/us was organized by the Contemporary Art Museum Houston and has been made possible by major grants from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts as well as the patrons, benefactors and donors to the CAMH's Major Exhibition Fund.
The accompanying catalogue became possible by a generous gift of The Brown Foundation, Inc..

Supported by:
Cultural office of the state capital Wiesbaden
Federal Cultural Foundation
Hessische Kulturstiftung
U.S. Consulate General Frankfurt
Hessian Ministry for Science and the Arts
Henkell & Co. Sektkellerei KG