Venue: Essl Museum – Large Hall
Curator: Christine Humpl
Exhibition management: Essl Museum together with Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin and Tal R

Two complete artwork series, an artist’s book and a look at recent works fresh from the studio of Tal R await visitors in this exhibition at the Essl Museum.

Portraitfoto TAL R Photo ©: Elfie Semotan	Untitled (House of Prince), 2004 oil light bulbs on panel 80 x 80 x 5,7 cm

Tal Rosenzweig, who is better known under his pseudonym Tal R, was born in Tel Aviv in 1967 and lives and works in Copenhagen. In 2005, he started teaching a master class in painting at the Düsseldorf academy. Tal R is an artist who collects, collages and playfully mixes styles and contexts into a very idiosyncratic and complex pictorial language which has gained him international recognition. His artistic repertoire includes painting, drawing and sculpture, collage and assemblages, as well as film, textile art, fashion design and artist’s books. Inspiration sources include elements of music, comic-strips aesthetics, television and the graphic design of old video games.

One highlight of the exhibition is the 191-part series >House of Prince<, created by the artist over several years (2000 - 2004). The numerous small-format works – oil on canvas, wood and paper as well as collages and material assemblages with light bulbs, matches or crown caps – are marked by a similar basic layout. Solid bands across the bottom and top and triangles on both sides delineate an octagonal area in the centre. This is the pictorial space in which Tal R plays with pictogram-like basic shapes, letters and symbols. The abstract paintings he creates have many stories to tell..

TAL R Untitled (House of Prince), 2004 paper collage, glass 60 x 66,5 cm	TAL R House of Prince, 2000-2004 installation view, 2005

This is the first time that the complete 24-part >FRUITS< series of bronzes and sculptures (2005 - 2006) will be displayed in a museum context. Tal R´s sculptures are composed of fruits, vegetables and objects that seem to come from a waste bin (such as old shoes, bottles, hats, beer cans, etc.). Perishable food and waste products are conserved in the form of sculptures with a classical air to them and thus saved – at least temporarily – from perishing.

The artist decided to create a link in the form of an artist’s book between the two groups of works that are so different in format. He creates something reminiscent of a photo session to guide us through a flood of his own exhibition publications and bookworks, through his working space and into his pictorial world. The essay was written by his artist friend Ferdinand Ahm Krag. All of the 92 pages of the book which will be available at the Essl Museum’s bookshop are printed in blue.

TAL R Strawberry, 2006 bronze 72 x 25 x 32 cm pedestal: 110 x 29 x 40 cm	TAL R Onions, 2005 bronze 103, 5 x 45 x 39 cm pedestal: 80 x 50 x 50 cm

 

Artist Book

An artist´ s book of about 92 pages with a text by the Danish artist and author Ferdinand Ahm Krag will be presented at the opening of the exhibition.

Installation views

© Courtesy Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin Photo: Jan Bauer	© Courtesy Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin Photo: Jan Bauer

© Courtesy Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin Photo: Jan Bauer	© Courtesy Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin Photo: Jan Bauer

Specials

The art education team offers guided tours and workshops related to the exhibition, every Sunday at 3 p.m. there is a guided tour entitled >talr : prince fruit & Overlapping Voices<.

 

Press

Anja Reisch: +43 (0)2243 - 370 50 60, reisch@essl.museum , www.essl.museum

Partners of the Essl Museum

bauMax AG / Café + Co International Holding / Donau Versicherungs-AG – Vienna Insurance Group / Siemens AG Österreich / Telekom Austria AG