Rosi Steinbach »Depot« in »Gedanken Raum geben«
Grassi Museum of Applied Arts
24 November 2016—until 28 May 2017
Grassi Museum für Angewandte Kunst
Grassi Museum of Applied Arts
Johannisplatz 5—11, 04103 Leipzig /Germany
Tuesday—Sunday, Holidays 10am—6pm
Room for thought /Gedanken Raum geben. On the anniversary of the reformation, artists and architects create rooms that offer space for meditation and pause in our ever faster-paced lifestyles. Sensory materials invite viewers to feel their way through the room, while media projections create spatial experiences, real bodies define shells and space, and audio-visual boundaries demarcate spaces. The diversity of these current positions not only reflects the opportunities offered by an open society, it also highlights re-interpretations of our basic human need for contemplation.
—Grassi Museum of Applied Arts
Rosi Steinbach: Depot
Room installation, baked clay, glazed, partially painted, some material combinations
My ceramic objects are not derived from any specific religion, cult and specific historic or cultural context. They are generally unpretentious, realistic depictions of creatures or objects. These are things that I believe exude a certain power that, if given the space to think about them, can have an entirely subjective, yet collectively shaped flow of associations.
For example, snakes instil fear, disgust or fascination in many people. Before their fall from grace, Adam and Eve clearly showed no fear of snakes. However, ever since the original sin we have been wary of them. My snakes hang on the wall like rolled-up garden hoses, as though stored there. Maybe they are waiting for the right moment to make their move.
The monkey is holding out a bouquet of flowers into the room—on a good day, that could be construed as a nice gesture. However, the flowers are not from the monkey’s natural habitat. Plus, when chimpanzees bare their teeth, we can never really be sure that it is a friendly smile.
With a collar studded with precious stones, the poodle is resting on a kind of sedan that is reminiscent of Chinese furniture. But don’t they say that people eat dogs in China? This one is clearly so wealthy that it doesn’t have to worry about that and has already reached an advanced age, or is at least too lazy to walk, so it allows itself to be carried. Mephistopheles manifested as a black poodle. You never know what a black dog really is.
These objects are stored in my depot, waiting for someone to discover and associate them with themselves, their time and each other. The ladies and gentlemen and children in the shelves are thinking about it. Visitors can feel free to pick a bust or two and, in turn, think about the person it depicts.
—Rosi Steinbach /Translated by Brendan Bleheen