Opening | In the Context of the Collection: Henrik Olesen and Isidore Isou

In his artistic research, Henrik Olesen (b. 1967 in Esbjerg, Denmark) engages in depth with the historiography of art.

Appropriating various sources consisting of images and text, he adds queer – particularly gay – positions that in some cases are still marginalised, criminalised or rendered invisible even today. The body and corporeality play a major role in this context.

Olesen is represented in the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein collection by three mixed media sculptural works and one painting. As part of the exhibition format In the Context of the Collection, the artist has been invited to engage with the Museum's collection: his works enter into a dialogue with pieces by the artist and writer Isidore Isou (1925 in Botoşani, Romania – 2007 in Paris). Isou is regarded as the founder of the Lettrism movement, that centred on the letter as the fundamental, unadulterated and smallest unit of language. Here we see how both artists use fragments to open up new perspectives on language and society.

A production of Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, curated by Letizia Ragaglia.