Carsten Ahrens Book order

Die New York Times nannte ihn „den berühmtesten unbekannten Künstler in New York“. Und in der Tat ist Ray Johnson (1927-1995) lange Zeit ein Geheimtipp geblieben, obwohl er mit den bedeutendsten Künstlern seiner Zeit, von John Cage bis Andy Warhol, in regem Gedankenaustausch stand und der Einfluss seines Werkes auf die Kunst unserer Zeit gar nicht hoch genug eingeschätzt werden kann. Ray Johnson gilt als Vater der mail-art, als Meister der Collage und als Vorläufer der pop-art. Aber all diese Etikettierungen vermögen nicht, diesen unbändigen Künstler zu fassen, der wie kaum ein anderer seiner Grundidee treu blieb, Kunst als kommunikativen Prozess jenseits der etablierten Institutionen zu begreifen und zu leben. Die Ausstellung in der Weserburg stellt Ray Johnson mit ca. 170 Werken aus der Sammlung Maria und Walter Schnepel, Bremen, vor, die zu den bedeutendsten Sammlungen des Werkes in Europa zählt.

In his series featuring German Facades, French beach huts, and British seaside resorts, Götz Diergarten (*1972 in Mannheim) examines the outward appearance of different types of everyday buildings. Following in the footsteps of the Becher School, Diergarten’s works are conceptually rigorous, with a documentary-style straightforwardness. Diergarten’s originality, however, lies in the fact that he adds color as a dimension to this austere concept. In his METROpolis series, also presented in this book, he transforms the materials and patterns of passageways, tunnels, and railway platforms into abstract color spaces and fields. As in earlier series by Diergarten, the influences of American color photography by artists such as William Eggleston or Stephan Shore are obvious.

Rebecca Horn is a multi-talented artist whose kinetic sculptures, films and installations have contributed to her unique international reputation. Her surreal installations and objects work as metaphors; often playfully erotic, they arouse curiosity and childlike amazement, yet also subconsciously evoke fear and uncertainty Glance of Infinity is a comprehensive survey of Rebecca Horn's work from 1970 up to the present day, including her most recently exhibited works at this year's Venice Biennale, for the new building of the Kestner Gesellschaft in Hannover, and in the Munster Skulptur Projekte in Munster 1997. This full scale monograph includes an interview with the artist, and essays by Brace W. Ferguson, Lynne Cooke, Doris von Drahten and Rebecca Horn, as well as a comprehensive index. Beautifully designed and printed, it constitutes an invaluable work of reference and presents a complete visual documentation of the development of one of our most important contemporary artists