ART-PRESENTATION:Urs Fischer-The Public & The Private

Urs Fischer, Dazzled, 2016, Glass, ceramic silkscreen medium, two-component silicone adhesive, velvet, silicone, steel pins, acrylic paint, wax, aluminum armature, 2 parts, each: 65 x 80 x 64 cm), Courtesy of the artist and Massimo De Carlo-Milan, Photo: Roberto Marossi, Image Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San FranciscoSince Urs Fischer first began showing his work, in the mid-‘90s, in Europe, he has produced an enormous number of objects, drawings, collages, and room-size installations. Imbued with their own mortality, his sculptures and installations cultivate the experiential function of art. Fischer incorporates elements of performance and Pop art to create an oeuvre that is distinctly current, and as witty as it is macabre.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Urs Fischer’s solo exhibition “The Public & the Private” a the Legion of Honor in San Francisco is the first under a new contemporary art initiative, which presents the work of living artists in dialogue with the unique histories and identities of the sites, buildings, and collections of the de Young and Legion of Honor. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of French sculptor Auguste Rodin’s death, Urs Fischer has been invited to bring a contemporary perspective of the Museums’ permanent collection, of Rodin sculptures. Urs Fischer presents more than 30 works installed throughout the Court of Honor, rotunda and upper level galleries of the Legion of Honor. In a redefined vision of the Court of Honor, 16 bronze sculptures by Fischer, including “boy in chair” (2014) and “fireplace” (2014), are joining its Rodin’s “The Thinker”. They are the outcome of a communal crowd-sourced art making effort, in which Fischer invited the public into an exhibition space turned studio to join him in creating sculptures of clay. Selected pieces were displayed and later cast in bronze, using a process that would preserve the appearance of clay as well as the gestures of the creators’ manipulations. Inside the Legion, Fischer orchestrates intimate encounters between his work and works in the permanent collection galleries. Installed in the rotunda, “Invisible Mother” (2015) bring new life and humor into the art historical genre of the vanitas. Doubling as a fountain, it features a skeleton cast in brass and caked in dust, its back arched over a chair while its broken frame is doused with water. Another motif is the burning candle  that reappears in “Adam” (2014–17). This wax figure with wicks embedded throughout, is new for the exhibition and forms part of the artist’s series of wax sculptures exploring the dimension of time. Once lit, the work will slowly melt away, leaving tendrils of wax pooled on the floor. In the French and Italian Rococo gallery, “UF” (2015), gives a more personal tone. The chair as a metaphorical representation of the body is a recurring motif in Fischer’s work. “Foxtrot” (2015) has been installed in the Louis XV Room, among the Museum’s holdings of rococo furniture and decorative arts, again presents the cast of a chair, but in contrast, a modular stackable one. In the Flemish gallery, in the place of Peter Paul Rubens’ “The Tribute Money” (1612), visitors will find Fischer’s “Lead & Tin” (2016). A double image featuring a female vampire is layered with a ghostly, translucent mask without eyes and mouth that both veils and highlights her expression beneath. “Lead & Tin” is part of a series of works dedicated to the concept of undead monsters, which play such a dominant role in today’s cultural narrative.

Info: The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, 100 34th Avenue, San Francisco, Duration: 22/4-2/7/17, Days & Hours: Tue-Sun 9:30-17:15, https://legionofhonor.famsf.org

Left: Urs Fischer, boy in chair, 2014, Cast bronze, 123.2 x 94 x 96.5 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Gagosian Gallery,Photo: Mats Nordman, Image Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Right: Urs Fischer, Snail Crossing Helmet, 2016, Cast bronze, cast stainless steel, oil paint, 29.2 x 24.4 x 31.8 cm, Courtesy of the artist, Gagosian Gallery; Sadie Coles HQ-London; and Massimo De Carlo-Milan. Photo: Mats Nordman, Image Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Left: Urs Fischer, boy in chair, 2014, Cast bronze, 123.2 x 94 x 96.5 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Gagosian Gallery,Photo: Mats Nordman, Image Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Right: Urs Fischer, Snail Crossing Helmet, 2016, Cast bronze, cast stainless steel, oil paint, 29.2 x 24.4 x 31.8 cm, Courtesy of the artist, Gagosian Gallery; Sadie Coles HQ-London; and Massimo De Carlo-Milan. Photo: Mats Nordman, Image Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

 

 

Urs Fischer, Crying Horse, 2016, Cast bronze, acrylic primer, gesso, oil paint, 22.2 x 31.8 x 8.9 cm, Courtesy of the artist, Gagosian Gallery, Sadie Coles HQ-London and Massimo De Carlo-Milan. Photo: Mats Nordman, Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Urs Fischer, Crying Horse, 2016, Cast bronze, acrylic primer, gesso, oil paint, 22.2 x 31.8 x 8.9 cm, Courtesy of the artist, Gagosian Gallery, Sadie Coles HQ-London and Massimo De Carlo-Milan. Photo: Mats Nordman, Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

 

 

Left & Right: Urs Fischer, Invisible Mother, 2015 Cast brass, enamel, enamel spray paint, dirt, bronze dust, copper dust, epoxy, spray lacquer, stainless steel plumbing, stainless steel basin, copper tubing, electric pump, rubber hose, 132.1 x 160 x 170.2 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Gagosian Gallery.,Photo: Stefan Altenburger, Image Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Left & Right: Urs Fischer, Invisible Mother, 2015 Cast brass, enamel, enamel spray paint, dirt, bronze dust, copper dust, epoxy, spray lacquer, stainless steel plumbing, stainless steel basin, copper tubing, electric pump, rubber hose, 132.1 x 160 x 170.2 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Gagosian Gallery.,Photo: Stefan Altenburger, Image Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

 

 

Urs Fischer, 7 (Detail), 2014, Cast bronze, oil paint, gold leaf, clay bole, acrylic primer, chalk gesso, rabbit skin glue, 74.9 x 208.3 x 160 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Sadie Coles HQ-London. Photo: Mats Nordman, Image Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Urs Fischer, 7 (Detail), 2014, Cast bronze, oil paint, gold leaf, clay bole, acrylic primer, chalk gesso, rabbit skin glue, 74.9 x 208.3 x 160 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Sadie Coles HQ-London. Photo: Mats Nordman, Image Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco