Lori Hersberger The World

With the opening of the show-The World, we are pleased to present, for the first time in France, a comprehensive exhibit of artist Lori Hersberger's work. Hersberger was born in Basel, Switzerland in 1964. From 1991 to 1995, he studied at the Schule für Gestaltung in Basel. Hersberger lives and works in Zurich.

After participating in important group shows such as Balloon Frame at the Kunsthalle /Basel (1995), Freie Sicht aufs Mittelmeer at the Kunsthaus/Zurich, Schirn Kunsthalle/Frankfurt(1998) and Nonchalance Revisited at l'Akademie der Künste of Berlin (1999), Lori Hersberger created, with his installation of second hand carpets floating on water, the iconic image of the 1999 Venice Biennal. He then kicked off many international exhibitions that culminated in 2001 with solo shows at the Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Basel, at the Kunsthaus de Zurich (2003) and at Badischer Kunstverein Karlsruhe (2004).

In addition to these installations and works with neon, painting also figures prominently in Hersberger's body of work.

During the Venice Biennial of 1999, Hersberger, who had begun his studies in sculpture and video arts, declared that he would shift his focus to painting, but that neon and video would never completely disappear from his body of work.

For the Paris show, we are pleased to offer a glimpse into the variety of contrasting mediums present in the artist's current work- paintings on mirrors and canvas, neons and sculptures created with fluorescent paint. His use of the available space will be an integral part of The World. For Hersberger, art is always a spatial happening, true in both the spiritual and architectural sense. With regards to painting in particular, the artist is without constraints- which is why, for him, the frame marks only the vaguest limit. In his installations, the colors keep escaping from the canvas squares and find themselves taking hold of the walls beyond. They taunt you with their boldness, like a soloist would, but also stay mysteriously linked to one another as members of an ensemble. In this context, the mirrors play an important role- lately Hersberger has been incorporating them more and more into his work. Positioning them carefully in the space, serving to regroup fragmented pieces into their reflections, offering a cohesive image of the whole. Everything changes based on the position and the perspective of the viewer, everything constantly reinvents itself.

A comprehensive catalogue published by JRP Ringier (Zurich) in collaboration with the Kunsthaus Zurich will be published in conjunction with this exhibit.