Roman Signer:  Acht Stühle / Eight Chairs

The Sala de Arte Público Siqueiros (SAPS) in Mexico City opens Roman Signer: Acht Stühle (Ocho sillas) the first solo exhibition of the Swiss artist in Latin America.

Roman Signer: Acht Stühle (Eight Chairs) includes some of the artist's most representative works, such as Kajak mit Paddeln (2010), Vier Ventilatoren mit rotem Band (2011), and Beobachtungskiste (2000), as well as a new piece commissioned by the SAPS. Departing from the potential of chance and the instant, Signer challenges the definition of the art object in relation to the concept of artistic documentation. In his "action sculptures," Signer stages controlled accidents — at times with explosions — that play upon the tension between precaution and the unexpected. The artist constructs ephemeral events, with simple materials and the use of physical forces like gravity and speed. These are documented with utmost precision.

The exhibition creates a dialog with the different notions of the controlled accident — a term coined to Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros in the 1930s. On three new pieces developed specifically for the institution, Signer isolates the intense colors that characterized Siqueiros's murals through pictorial experiments with small helicopters, which randomly explode painting onto the walls of the museum. While some pieces will be realized prior to the opening of the exhibition, other works will be in a constant flux. This confrontation brings forth Signer's concern with time, acceleration and change. The new commission Acht Stühle (2011) uses Mexican fireworks to deal with the possibility of the accident inside the museum. Although the piece seems to be static, this gesture alludes to the possibility of self-destruction and the disappearance of the artwork.

About Sala de Arte Público Siqueiros Recently renovated, the SAPS is a non-for-profit arts institution located in Mexico City dedicated to exhibiting contemporary art. The exhibitions establish a dialogue with the ideological and aesthetic discourse of Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros. SAPS presents works and exhibitions by emerging and established, national and international artists. With the intervention of Hector Esrawe and arquitectura 911sc (Jose Castillo and Saidee Springall), the museum reopened its doors with novel proposals and initiated Proyecto Fachada, a project where artists are invited to produce works on the façade of the building.

Roman Signer
Acht Stühle / Eight Chairs