SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA.- The Santa Monica Museum of Art presents "What Should an Owl do with a Fork - Urs Fischer," on view through August 30, 2002. A life-sized female figure clumsily carved from wax melts from the fire burning in her head; the rear-end of a scruffy dog awkwardly wags its mechanical tail. Linked by implication rather than style, this willful selection of disparate works combine to create "What Should an Owl do with a Fork" a new site-specific installation by Swiss artist Urs Fischer.
Known for his use of diverse materials that include wax, hair, fake fur, plaster, silicone, and rubber, Fischer’s chaotic and idiosyncratic environments contain varied sculptural elements that frustrate immediate comprehension. Entropic by nature, the ambiguous forms, and the ideas they inspire, collapse and collide to reveal a range of meanings. Exploring extremes from the beautiful to the beastly, the themes in his work "while remaining fluid" reflect thoughts about life, love, art, and politics. Although sometimes critical of culture and society, Fischer’s work is always humorous and engaging.
Born in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1973, Urs Fischer studied at the Schule für Gestaltung, Zurich, and at De Ateliers, Amsterdam. In 1997 he completed a two-year residency at Delphina Studios in London. Fischer has had a number of solo exhibitions at Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin (2002); Galerie Hauser & Wirth & Presenhuber (2001, 1999); Stedelijk Museum Bureau, Amsterdam (2000); and the Institute for Contemporary Art, London (2000). He has participated in significant group exhibitions including My Head is on Fire, but my Heart is Full of Love, Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark (2002); the Swiss Institute, New York (2002); Manifesta 3, European Biennial of Contemporary Art, Ljubijana, Slovania (2000); Ironisch/Ironic, Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich (1998); and Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo per l’Arte, Turin, Italy (1997). Fischer divides his time between Zurich and Los Angeles. This is his first exhibition on the West Coast.
