The Swiss artist Christian Gonzenbach (b. 1975 in Geneva) works as a researcher at the interface between natural sciences and artistic approaches. He attempts to capture the physical appearance of living beings in an unconventional manner and redefine them through their materiality and scale. Gonzenbach constantly surprises with his depiction of nature in its vulnerability and dependence on humans.

The artist is now designing a temporary installation especially for the secularized Dominican Church, for which Gonzenbach explored the building’s religious background. He interprets the creation story in an artistic context and turns the space into a production site for contemporary art. Prior to the exhibition, the artist and his team will cast sculptures from a tar-like, viscous substance in the interior of the former church. The formal vocabulary of his objects consists of echoes of religious figures and forms from nature.

The creative process can be experienced by the visitors through artefacts of the production and short film sequences. The artist calls into question our need to produce material things. The objects will be arranged on long tables in the central nave like offerings, as if they were being sacrificed.

I am looking for an unusual perspective on the world. And that raises the question: is there an ordinary one?

Christian Gonzenbach

After the end of the exhibition, nothing will be left over; everything is ephemeral. The sculptures will be recycled, and all that remains will be the memory of the endless human activity.

Curator: Andreas Hoffer