Jeremy Deller. steirischer herbst

About

Thereby, the focus will be on the influence of modern art on Graz, a town permanently shaped by the Baroque era and the Counterreformation. The comprehensive exhibition project of steirischer herbst will be displayed simultaneously at numerous locations in Graz. At the Künstlerhaus, Halle für Kunst & Medien, Jeremy Deller (*1966 London, lives in London) will present a site-specific, original production.
Deller’s projects are often politically charged, ripe with historical references and always endowed with the intention to break with conservative thought patterns. The established British artist uses the media of installation, film, performance and collage and is interested in the interplay between different societies, social groups and historic events that emanate into the present. Deller’s new work is inspired by the founding years of the institution and its architecture. The center of the project are new historical insights into the pivotal influence of the British allies on the building of the Künstlerhaus in 1952, which run contrary to the thus far common historiography on the inception of the institution as a regional effort of the territorial authorities and artist associations. Deller’s exhibition is preceded by extensive archival research of documents concerning the architecture, orientation and history of the building that was built in the sacral form of a temple under the auspices of “White Modernism.” For the Künstlerhaus, the show with museal and documentary character marks a significant correction of its own history.