Form Matters, Matter Forms. From Readymade to Product Fetish

From the readymade to the object of everyday use: Since the invention of the readymade in the 1910s, when everyday objects were declared to be art objects, the distinction between art and everyday life has no longer been readily possible and has become highly dependent on context. With the public presentation of readymades and their appropriation in the milieu of Pop Art during the 1960s, a period of great economic prosperity, the influence of product and advertising design on art increased considerably. The aesthetics familiar from everyday life have also fundamentally changed art in terms of content. The contemplation of art can hardly be considered any longer without the reciprocal dependencies of the art system and its development within consumer society. With the appropriation of consumer goods, the microsystem of art has become a veritable zone of conflict between material and materialism, and works of art have thereby become downright fetish objects. These mutual dependencies form the point of departure for the exhibition and the accompanying book „Form Matters, Matter Forms. Vom Readymade zum Gebrauchsgegenstand“, with works from Marcel Duchamp to the present.

Artists:
Cory Arcangel, John Armleder, Monica Bonvicini, Christa Dichgans, Marcel Duchamp, Öyvind Fahlström, Sylvie Fleury, Claire Fontaine, Wade Guyton, Hans Haacke, Richard Hamilton, David Hammons, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Barbara Kruger, Mark Leckey, Sherrie Levine, Richard Prince, Martha Rosler, Sturtevant, Rosemarie Trockel, Andy Warhol, Ai Weiwei et al.

Exhibition:
Kunst Museum Winterthur, 7/9 – 17/11/2024