RIDICULOUSLY YOURS!

The feeling or attitude of enthusiastic embarrassment is undoubtedly associated with a notion of humorous light-heartedne —but just as much with a sense of earnest persistence, against all odds. It is certainly associated with irony—but also with a deeply unironic, rather enthusiastic belief in the necessity and possibility of persevering and continuing with something that has been recognized as unpleasant or embarrassing. One of the most important attitudes or feelings underlying modern and contemporary art is an enthusiastic silliness that does not shy away from the embarrassing, the unreasonably silly. The exhibition Ridiculously Yours!, which spans epochs, includes works by around 100 artists from all over the world and spans an arc from earlier centuries of artistic creation to the immediate past. In modernism since the 19th century in general and the classical avant-gardes of the early 20th century in particular, a very specific dialectic is at work: on the one hand, bold innovations, radical negation, and aesthetic dogmas—but on the other hand, a certain kind of laughter that formed the basis for the creation of this exhibition project. It is a laughter that is fun and at the same time—without wanting to scandalize onl —undermines all conservatism, bigotry, morality and not least avant-garde dogmatisms. By opposing the use of culture to intimidate, to secure unearned privileges, this laughter shows how authority loses its grip, how the pompous gesture and the image of the hero are invalidated.

Thematic sections feature works by numerous important artists—from Marcel Duchamp to Francis Picabia, René Magritte, Giorgio de Chirico to Sturtevant, Alfred Jarry, Sigmar Polke, Martin Kippenberger, Maria Lassnig and Robert Breer to contemporary positions such as Paul McCarthy, Nicole Eisenman, Peter Fischli & David Weiss, Isa Genzken, Pauline Curnier-Jardin, Kiluanji Kia Henda, Cosima von Bonin, Jakob Lena Knebl, Henrike Naumann, Ashley Hans Scheirl, Jeffrey Vallance as well as Ming Wong, just to name a few. In addition to numerous loans coming from European and American museums as well as private collections, also included are works from the Universalmuseum Joanneum collection in Graz, featuring, for example, pieces by Rembrandt van Rijn from the Alte Galerie or by Josef Danhauser and Jiří Kovanda.

The overall exhibition is presented in both institutions, HALLE FÜR KUNST Steiermark and Neue Galerie Graz featuring spectacular artworks in each venue. One will encounter, a surreal maze of mirrors by Dutch artist Gabriel Lester, an immersive installation specially commissioned for the exhibition which will take central stage at Neue Galerie Graz and be confronted with a monumental installation composed of sixteen freestanding painted cut-outs, constructed like theatre backdrops by American artist Jim Shaw presented in the central gallery of HALLE FÜR KUNST Steiermark. Besides dealing with its specific topic, this exhibition also offers an overview of important positions in international art history and contemporary art.