Nowadays, Isa Genzken is arguably one of the most prominent sculpture artists in Europe. It will not be long before she is acknowledged in the United States given that a touring retrospective of her work is currently being held at MoMA in New York. Oddly enough, despite being respected within the artistic community and being very popular in the art market, she is not really known to the general public.
What is striking about this exhibition is the clear evolution of her work and her individual pieces, from the earlier ones dating back to the late 1970’s to the “statue” depicted on the page opposite this article. This mannequin is one of her most recent pieces and simultaneously opens and closes the exhibition as it is placed between the entrance and the exit. It was also chosen by the museum to advertise the event. The first of Genzken’s pieces, which look like jackstraws, are carved out of wood with an extremely smooth and defined finish and were created with computer-assisted art technology. Then come her large window and portico framework pieces made out of concrete and epoxy.
Her work, located on the dividing line between design and architecture, at some point, began to radicalize and free itself. Her pieces are made with recycled and everyday materials and literally fall to the floor with no base or verticality as if shattered in the making. Genzken was in New York when the towers of the World Trade Center collapsed. This event deeply affected her artistic practice and a number of her works make direct references to it. She has cast aside darker colours preferring fluorescent ones and has discarded solemnity in favour of saturation.
The sculpture depicts an “actor” who could possibly be the artist herself disguised and concealed. The “Schauspieler” wears a mask and is hidden behind a lace veil. Genzken, who rarely appears in public, does not want to talk to anyone anymore. The galleries she works with have disclosed that she has been having psychological issues as a result of her various drug addictions. This sculpture is Hannibal Lecter, a prostitute, an actress, an artist and a spectator all at once and may well be one of the future art icons of the 21st century.
