Sitting in the sun

When you visit this exhibition, you will see many images.

Images that exist.

And images that exist in your mind.

They all exist.

You will realize that you are perceiving them.

You will realize that they exist.

The sun will always shine.

Featuring the artists:

Milena Uzelac and Mascha Jo Kiener, Nino Baumgartner, Sophie Nadler & Etienne Eisele, Thomas Moor, Michal Florence Schorro

… and the narrators:

Mireille Bucher, Leila Elisa, Amélie Geyer, Marie Jeger, Gian Linder, Sara Rufino, Angelica Säuberli, Balz Spengler, Chiara Toteda

Visible and Invisible Works of Art

The exhibition “Sitting in the Sun” at the Helmhaus juxtaposes visible and invisible works of art. It features 724 works from public art collections that have not been on view for 50 years or more. And five newly created works that cannot be seen—but are described instead. Materialized and imagined works of art come face to face. Visitors leaving this exhibition will have seen a great deal: both in reality and in their imagination.

The 724 works of art on view at the Helmhaus have not been exhibited—and thus have not been visible—for 50 years or more. They are on loan from six public art collections. Over 500 artists created them. Their names are listed on a wall—along with the names of seven younger artists. They were invited to create works for this exhibition that are not displayed but “merely” described.

Nine narrators tell the stories of five artworks. Whether these works physically exist remains open to interpretation. The narrators pass the works on to the visitors of this exhibition—live, from person to person. Images of the works that are not physically present in the exhibition take shape in the visitors’ minds. They cannot be seen. And yet, by imagining them, one sees them before one’s eyes.

The exhibition “Sitting in the Sun” is also about doing nothing. It takes the view that we are doing something when we do nothing. Perhaps doing nothing is even one of our most valuable activities. When we do nothing, our minds and hands are free. We are free from tasks—we set our own tasks. There is no new information coming from the outside to distract us. Instead, we become aware of what is stirring within us and trying to tell us something. When we “Sit in the Sun,” we do nothing—and yet we do something. Perhaps the most important thing we have ever done.

Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.