INSTALLATION_ Beauty has many faces. It manifests itself to us in the timeless simplicity of Nefertiti as well as in the inscrutable smile of Mona Lisa. It is to be found in the calm landscapes of Caspar David Friedrich, but also in Hokusai‘s powerful large wave which even seems to be burying Mount Fuji under itself. Beauty can be simple and radiant. Elegant and seductive. Magnificent and playful. However, it can also be dark and mysterious and disturbing. Artists from every epoch have made this variety of beauty visible in their pictures and sculptures, and hence the search for beauty is always reflected in the greatest works in the history of art. Gasometer Oberhausen is showing until 30 December 2014 with the exhibition “The Appearance of Beauty“ the variety of beauty in art.
The exhibition “The Appearance of Beauty” in Oberhausen’s Gasometer brings together important works of art from the world’s major museums in one place. It takes the visitors along on a fascinating journey through the various cultures and periods of the human race and leads us from the ancient world to Picasso. More than 150 large-format photographs and true to original castings open up a kaleidoscope of beauty that every visitor will experience on the basis of his/her own sense of beauty and through which he/she will constantly discover new connections and associations.
The “320° Light“ Installation of the group of artists URBANSCREEN from Bremen uses the cathedral-like beauty of the Gasometer as the starting point for a fascinating game with shapes and light. Within a radius of 320 degrees graphic patterns grow and change on the 100-metre high inside wall of the Gasometer. The observer experiences the interplay between real and virtual space, in which the Gasometer seems to dissolve into its own, filigree structures and yet finally always reverts to its clear shape. “320° light” is achieved with projection technology from Epson. With more than 16,000 square metres of area played upon, the installation is among the world’s largest and technically most sophisticated interior projections.
The curators of the exhibition ”The Appearance of Beauty“ are Peter Pachnicke and Wolfgang Volz who were already responsible for the implementation of successful projects in the Oberhausen Gasometer such as “Out of this World”, ”Magic Places“ and Christo’s ”Big Air Package”.
“The Appearance of Beauty” is to be seen in Europe’s tallest exhibition hall. The Gasometer, 117.5 metres in height, is a landmark of the city of Oberhausen and an impressive document of the history of construction and technology. Large exhibitions have been a successful component of the cultural landscape in North Rhine-Westphalia since 1994. With about five million visitors, Gasometer Oberhausen is representative of lively change in the region. The space experience within the interior of this “cathedral of industry” is unique. From the roof, which can be reached via the glass panorama lift, a view over the whole of the western Ruhr is presented.
THE APPEARANCE OF BEAUTY
Place: Gasometer Oberhausen, Arenastraße 11, 46047 Oberhausen
http://www.gasometer.de/
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