VADUZ.- Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein is mounting the most extensive exhibition of French artist Bertrand Lavier (* 1949) in the German-speaking world to date. Lavier counts among the most formative figures in the development of French art since the late 1970s and is highly respected internationally. He finds the subject of his work in the dynamic context between high culture and pop culture. His oeuvre is intelligent and original, visually attractive and possessed of subtle wit.

Lavier gained international fame with his paintings on pictures and objects and with his Superpositions, works created by setting objects from the world of commodities on top of each other. Over the years Lavier has begun a number of other groups of works, that he develops in parallel on an ongoing basis. He refers to these projects as “construction sites”, thus emphasising their nature as works in progress. By deploying a wide range of materials and techniques, the aim is to achieve a finely balanced combination of various genres of art: painting with photography, painting with object, sculpture with object, object with photography, object with sculpture, design with sculpture. But he also interweaves fiction and material reality, transformation and image creation, the history of art, design and general culture with intellectual freshness and precision, surprising sensuousness, playful lightness, and a distinct interest in the paradox. The basis is a fundamental interest in the complex relations between image, language and object. Despite frequent references to key works from the history of art, Lavier works in a broader field of visual and intellectual cultural anthropology. “I am inspired by the supermarket and the museum in equal measure.” His work is hence of particular significance for the development of art over the past forty years and highly relevant – particularly for younger artists.

The exhibition at Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein was created in close collaboration with the artist. Arranged in four themed sections, it showcases the main groups of works developed since the late 1970s alongside a number of new works created specifically for this show. A monografic publication will be published during the exhibition run.

The exhibition is a production of Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, curated by Friedemann Malsch.