Laboratory

Nina Canell
Klara Hobza
Markus Zimmermann
Andreas Zybach

The theme of the ars viva 2010/11 competition Laboratory, explored the act of experimentation—of approaching problems in art with the systematic trial and error that, traditionally, we are used only to seeing in the context of scientific practice. The exhibition series asked: what happens when artists apply scientific methods to their work? Is it possible, when we introduce the framework of the laboratory into the artist’s studio, for the artistic process to become just as—or more—meaningful than its product? The selected ars viva 2010/11 artists, Nina Canell, Klara Hobza, Markus Zimmermann and Andreas Zybach, expanded on the classic notion of science, made new discoveries, and through experimentation produced visible, tangible errors.

Canell, Hobza, Zimmermann and Zybach were asked by SALT to also consider the site and context of the institution and its new exhibition spaces. The proposed projects included an intervention by Canell that referred to aspects of the renovation process that she experienced while on residency in İstanbul in January; reflections by Hobza on her quest to dive the length of the Bosphorus; and installations by Zimmermann and Zybach that introduced new dimensions to the spatial composition of the gallery space.

ars viva 2010/11 Laboratory was co-organized and supported by Kulturkreis der detschen Wirtschaft im BDI e.V. (Cultural Committee of German Business). Since 1953, the ars viva prize for fine arts has been awarded to promising young artists based in Germany. Each year, the competition adopts a different search term that takes current tendencies in contemporary art into consideration. An intensive jury process then completes three rounds of investigation to select the awarded artists. The artists selected for ars viva 2010/11 presented their works at Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz (October 17, 2010 - January 16, 2011), and following SALT, the exhibition program concluded at the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart (June 18 - October 23, 2011).