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Space

Whether public space, private collection or museum—art appears in many places. What role do location and space play in contemporary art? The dimension and nature of the artwork also play a role. What space does a three-dimensional sculpture occupy as opposed to a work on paper or canvas? How does art change space and space change art?

What can a space be and entail?

Does a space need four walls, a solid floor and a secure roof, or do spaces also emerge with fewer or different forms of infrastructure? What and who shapes places and spaces besides physical conditions? What has an effect on them? Art often plays with different facets of spaces and places—as do the following works and artists.

Artwork Factory

Artwork Keith Haring, Untitled (Subway Drawing), 1983

For his “Subway Drawings,” Keith Haring used empty advertising spaces, on whose dark background he drew the outlines of his main motifs in one go with white chalk. On the right side of the image are the outlines of two human figures in comic pose and a frieze of crawling babies. Next to the drawing is the poster that was originally pasted beside it: a promotional poster for a 3-D movie entitled “The Man Who Wasn’t There.”

Artwork Factory

Artwork Lucy McKenzie, Rebecca, 2019

A painted mannequin is at the center of this picture. She is placed in an interior full of specially-designed objects. Marble, wooden and silky materials. A book about the dramatic staging of fashion. And a map of Glasgow, Lucy McKenzie’s birthplace, which is hung as wallpaper.

Artwork Factory

Artwork Cy Twombly, Lepanto Cycle, 2001

The “Lepanto” cycle is one of Cy Twombly’s major works and consists of twelve paintings that are exhibited permanently in a separate room at Museum Brandhorst. Vibrant hues in a broad palette of yellows, reds, turquoise and aquamarine define the drama of the monumental paintings. The action on the canvases intensifies, all the artist’s painting tools and painterly gestures are used expressively.

What kind of space does art occupy?

Do you find art in parks, in schools, on the streets? What do these places have in common and how do they contribute to a different experience of art? Do you know any artists who work in both public spaces and museums? Can different spaces be connected through art?

Artwork Factory

Artwork Sauerbruch Hutton, Museum Brandhorst

The museum building with its long, two-story rectangular structure and multicolored facade of 36,000 vertical ceramic rods was designed by Sauerbruch Hutton Architects and is located in the Kunstareal in Munich's Maxvorstadt district. 23 different colors can be counted and assigned to three color families: pastel shades, bright colors and darker nuances. The rainbow-like color scheme was inspired by the colors of the existing facades in Maxvorstadt.

Artist Factory

Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat

was born in New York, USA, in 1960 and dies there in 1988.

Artist Factory

Artist Wolfgang Tillmans

was born in Remscheid in 1968. He lives and works alternately in Berlin and London.

How do you feel when you enter a contemporary art museum?

Enter such a museum in your mind. What do you notice about the place? What materials, smells, or sounds? Museums often have unique architecture and furnishings—why do you think that is? What is essential for a contemporary art museum in order for it to function? What does this space enable and what does it exclude?

Artwork Factory

Artwork Louise Lawler, Plexi (adjusted to fit), 2010/2011

Each of the photographed boxes is covered with a Plexiglas sleeve, protecting it from possible exposure. Louise Lawler’s photograph of packaging is applied as wallpaper in the museum, matching the proportions of the particular wall on which it is seen. The resulting distortion of the image draws the focus not only to the contents, but also to the space. The photograph thus shows what we usually disregard when looking at pictures: the wall and hence the frame in which art is presented.

Creative project Factory

Creative project The museum building of the future

Design a museum building according to your ideas.

Artwork Factory

Artwork Wolfgang Tillmans, Buchholz & Buchholz Installation 1993, 1993

This room represents an exact replica of the Buchholz & Buchholz Gallery, where Wolfgang Tillmans exhibited his photographs in 1993. Here the artist tested a form of presentation in which photographs, photocopies, and reproductions of magazine pages stand side by side on an equal footing and are distributed throughout the room.

What does art need or take from space? What does the space give to the artworks?

The interactions of space and art influence our experience of art. Can you remember a situation where each communicated with the other, leaving a strong impression on you? In Museum Brandhorst, one room is dedicated to just twelve specific paintings. Does this moment remind you of another architectural situation?

Creative project Factory

Creative project Space for art

Create a model exhibition space, analog or digital, for an artwork of your choice.

Creative project Factory

Creative project Enchanting rooms

Confuse the spatial relationships with a “Magic Thing”.

Artwork Factory

Artwork Wolfgang Tillmans, Buchholz & Buchholz Installation 1993, 1993

This room represents an exact replica of the Buchholz & Buchholz Gallery, where Wolfgang Tillmans exhibited his photographs in 1993. Here the artist tested a form of presentation in which photographs, photocopies, and reproductions of magazine pages stand side by side on an equal footing and are distributed throughout the room.

Have you ever thought about “invisible” spaces?

Invisible spaces often become visible, or rather conceivable, through special codes. For example, in the work “Rebecca” (2019) by Lucy McKenzie or in the installation “Deep Social Space” (1989) by US artist Cady Noland. By choosing certain materials or methods, both artists refer to mental, cultural, or political spaces that occur elsewhere spatially, geographically, or historically.

Artwork Factory

Artwork Lucy McKenzie, Rebecca, 2019

A painted mannequin is at the center of this picture. She is placed in an interior full of specially-designed objects. Marble, wooden and silky materials. A book about the dramatic staging of fashion. And a map of Glasgow, Lucy McKenzie’s birthplace, which is hung as wallpaper.

Artist Factory

Artist Cady Noland

was born in Washington, D.C., USA, in 1956.

Artist Factory

Artist Alexandra Bircken

was born in Cologne in 1967.