Lawrence Weiner

We are pleased to present our next exhibition, devoted to the American artist Lawrence Weiner (* New York, 1942, based in Amsterdam and New York). Weiner is one of the world's foremost contemporary artists and has been represented by Mai 36 Galerie since 1988. Having started out experimenting with shaped canvases and squares cut out of carpets, Weiner went on to develop an artistic use of language in reference to these materials. Treating language as the physical subject matter of his artistic production, he has contrasting words or elliptical phrases painted on walls and also uses his linguistic material in diverse media such as video, tapes, graphics and multiples. What has emerged is an oeuvre of Statements, which are accessible to all viewers. For Weiner, the execution of his linguistic works is not a must. Initially formulated in his famous declaration of intent, first published in "Art News" in fall, 1968, Weiner has always remained to true to his set of artistic rules.

1. THE ARTIST CAN EXECUTE THE WORK 2. THE WORK CAN BE PRODUCED 3. THE WORK MUST NOT BE EXECUTED

EVERY POSSIBILITY IS OF EQUAL VALUE AND CORRESPONDS WITH THE ARTIST'S INTENTION THE DECISION CONCERNING THE MANNER OF EXECUTION RESTS WITH THE RECEIVER IN THE MOMENT THAT IT IS TAKEN OVER

Weiner calls his text works sculptures because they often involve sculptural operations: layering, extracting and connecting, activities that can be mentally traced by viewers. A wide-ranging spectrum of typefaces and graphic elements may be used in presenting these works. The Statements may be painted, pasted, stenciled or stamped; they may be graphically illegible; they may appear in English or in the language of the exhibition venue. Weiner's work is showcased not only in museums and galleries but also exists in public spaces, conspicuously placed or in non-places: on the walls of houses, on posters or cast in iron manhole covers. In 2007, the city of Zurich received one of his works on permanent loan. It is set into the ground: at Limmatplatz in German: KUGELLAGER ODER RUNDE STEINE ZUM ROLLEN GEBRACHT AUSSERHALB WAS IST, at Bellevue in English: BALL BEARINGS OR ROUND STONES MADE TO ROLL OUTSIDE OF WHAT IS, and at Helvetiaplatz in Italian: CUSCINETTI A SFE RA O CIOTTOLI LEVIGATI FATTI ROTOLARE AL DI FUORI DA CIÒ CHE È.

The works on view in the gallery are associative; they are simple and complex, poetic and intellectual; they speak at once of identity and alterity. For instance, in the two works COMPILATION and INHERENT DESTINY, on Filofax paper, there is room for everything: postcard clippings, stenciled words, puns, historical remarks and Latin proverbs. BROUGHT TO TOUCH, a conceptually more rational work consisting of the same elements but in tall format, will be on view at Art Basel, opposite the main entrance to the trade fair building.

Lawrence Weiner's stringently postulated artistic strategy has been embraced by most exponents of conceptual art. The concept, the idea of a work, is the essential factor, and it is on a par with the physical execution of the work. It is our task as viewers to translate and make sense of the open-ended form. The active role that Wiener ascribed and, of course, still ascribes to the recipients of art profoundly impacted future artistic developments. Most importantly, Weiner, who considers himself a "genuine American socialist," does not simply call into question the terms and signs that he uses; he is also acutely aware of the social and existential codes in which they are embedded. (Dominique von Burg)

Lawrence Weiner