Elbphilharmonie Revisited

The Miracel of Hamburg The opening of the Elbphilharmonie by Herzog & de Meuron prompted the Deichtorhallen Hamburg to also venture into uncharted territory: For the exhibition and book project, internationally renowned artists, who seemed predestined due to their close affinity to architecture, were invited to realize a corresponding artwork during in the test phase of the building. This unique opportunity initiated a variety of works ranging from photography and installation to sculpture and film. Ever since the beginnings of modernism, artists reacted directly to architectural contexts, and today, quite a number of them entirely dissolve the boundaries between visual art, architecture and design within their work. While dystopian and picturesque aspects in the cascading large-scale installations by Peter Buggenhout coagulate to form a mirror of an imaginary world of construction sites, it is the large-format photographs of the Elbphilharmonie by Candida Höfer that document the monumental aspect, all along conveying the impression of work and detail, thus adhering to the tradition of architectural photography. There are also close ties to Minimal Art, which still remains one of the paradigms of contemporary art, and which is reflected in the works, for instance, by Monica Bonvicini and Sarah Morris. The building by Herzog & de Meuron was the cause and origin for the exhibition idea »Elbphilharmonie Revisited«, but the artworks were developed freely and independently from this. They do, ultimately, all share a critical approach that examines fundamental questions about aesthetics and the reality of life in the fascinating discourse on architecture and fine art. Artistic contributions by: Baltic Raw Org, Monica Bonvicini, Peter Buggenhout, Jean-Marc Bustamente, Janet Cardiff / George Bures Miller, Tacita Dean, Uli M. Fischer, Liam Gillick, Herzog & de Meuron, Candida Höfer, Sarah Morris, Thomas Ruff, Tomás SaracenoExhibition: Deichtorhallen Hamburg, 10/2–2/5/2017