G2 #17
D I S I N F O T A I N M E N T
Norbert Bisky

Special Exhibition
June 4–September 26, 2021 (extended until January 16, 2022)
G2 Kunsthalle, Dittrichring 13, 04109 Leipzig

Since March 2020, the radius of what can be thought and represented has shrunken with shocking suddenness, but it has also been expanded in unforeseen directions. The curtailment of the space of experience to the screens of technical devices operated in private interior settings contrasts with the enlargement of conceptions of reality in other domains such as fantasy, horror, or myth.

Curated by Anka Ziefer, Norbert Bisky’s first exhibition in Leipzig, where he was born, combines earlier works from the holdings of the Hildebrand Collection with a new painting cycle and an expansive installation inspired by the altered conditions of communication in the pandemic age.

Bisky chose the title D I S I N F O T A I N M E N T in a nod to G2 Kunsthalle’s architectural history—when construction on the building began, in 1986, it was meant to house a municipal data processing center—and the show turns the spotlight on the use of data and information in a world ruled by digital technology. In the recent Trollfarmer (2021), Bisky grapples with “doom-scrolling,” in which people compulsively search the web for fear-inducing images and information, and explores the ways in which such novel cultural practices serve the interests of unseen actors.

The site-specific installation created for the exhibition undertakes a similar historical compar-ison between the East German past and the globalized present, studying the ways in which technological innovations and changing aesthetic preferences have shaped the dissemination of political agitation.

Download complete list of works and floor plan

Norbert Bisky (b. Leipzig, 1970) studied painting at the Berlin University of the Arts, where Georg Baselitz was his teacher, from 1994 until 1999. He was a visiting professor at HEAD, the Academy of Fine Arts of Geneva, from 2008 until 2010. In 2015, a three-month studio residency brought Bisky to Tel Aviv. From 2016 until 2018, he was a professor at the Braun-schweig University of Art (HBK). Bisky lives and works in Berlin and Málaga.

Selected solo shows: 2020 Fabienne Levy, Lausanne; König Tokyo; Confort Moderne, Poitiers; 2019 Stiftung St. Matthäus, Berlin; Villa Schöningen, Potsdam; 2018 Museum Langmatt, Baden; König London; 2017 König Galerie, Berlin; 2016 Crone, Wien; Galeria Baró, São Paulo; 2015 Givon Art Gallery, Tel Aviv; Bötzow Berlin; 2014, Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris; Espacio Minimo, Madrid; Kunsthalle Rostock; 2013 Kunsthalle Memmingen; Cokkie Snoei, Rotterdam; 2012 Leo Koenig, New York; 2011 Kunsthalle Marcel Duchamp, Cully; 2009 Dortmunder Kunstverein; Haifa Museum of Art; 2007 Haus am Waldsee, Berlin; 2006 Center for Contemporary Art, Vilnius; 2005 Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin; 2004 Mannheimer Kunstverein.

Selected group shows: 2020 Berghain, Berlin; Haus am Lützowplatz, Berlin; Hall Art Foundation / Schloss Derneburg Museum; KINDL Zentrum für zeitgenössische Kunst, Berlin; 2019 Kunsthalle Recklinghausen; Villa Arson, Nice; 2018 G2 Kunsthalle, Leipzig; Museum Abtei Liesborn, Wadersloh; 2017 Kunsthaus Dresden; Kunstmuseum Bern; 2016 Latvian National Museum of Art, Riga; 2015 Museum Buchheim, Bernried; 2014 Frissiras Museum, Athens; 2013 Fundación Cajamurcia, Cartagena; 2012 MARTa Herford; Tel Aviv Museum of Art; 2011 Museum Junge Kunst, Frankfurt (Oder); 2010 Anhaltinische Gemäldegalerie, Dessau; 2009 Kunstraum Potsdam; 2008 Kalmar Konstmusum; 2006 Kunsthalle Mannheim; 2005 Prague Biennial; 2004 National Museum, Seoul.

Link to press material

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