01.09.19 – 05.01.20
In Present-Day Art
Masks make us think of Carnival, of the rituals of African tribes, of death masks, theatre, film and fashion, as well as of role play, disguise and protection. Masks are an ancient, often controversial object of human cultural history. And masks also have a long tradition in the visual arts. But how is the subject being addressed in contemporary art?
The international group exhibition at the Aargauer Kunsthaus looks into this matter. Interest in masks among contemporary artists focuses not just on the mask as an object but also, and in particular, on its social, cultural and political implications. Between the opposite poles of showing and hiding and in a society in which skilful self-presentation is regarded as an indicator of personal success, the mask is highly topical. This motivates many artists to take up the subject and diagnose and reassess both the concept and the object from a contemporary point of view.
Artists
Kader Attia (b. 1970, FR), Silvia Bächli (b. 1956, CH) & Eric Hattan (b. 1955, CH), Sabian Baumann (b. 1962, CH), Nathalie Bissig (b. 1981, CH), Olaf Breuning (b. 1970, CH), Edson Chagas (b. 1977, AO), Hélène Delprat (b. 1957, FR), Cecilia Edefalk (b. 1954, SE), Nicole Eisenman (b. 1965, FR), Theaster Gates (b. 1973, USA), Gauri Gill (b. 1970, IN), Douglas Gordon (b. 1966, UK), Aneta Grzeszykowska (b. 1974, PL), Christoph Hefti (b. 1967, CH), Judith Hopf (b. 1969, DE), Cameron Jamie (b. 1969, USA), Laura Lima (b. 1971, BR), Christian Marclay (b. 1955, CH), Mélodie Mousset (b. 1981, FR/CH), Mike Nelson (b. 1967, UK), Elodie Pong (b. 1966, USA/CH), Pope.L (b. 1955, USA), Ugo Rondinone (b. 1964, CH), Amanda Ross-Ho (b. 1975, USA), Markus Schinwald (b. 1973, AT), Cindy Sherman (b. 1954, USA), Francisco Sierra (b. 1977, CH), Simon Starling (b. 1967, UK), John Stezaker (b. 1949, UK), Rosemarie Trockel (b. 1952, DE), Paloma Varga Weisz (b. 1966, DE), Gillian Wearing (b. 1963, UK), Susanne Weirich (b. 1962, DE), Pedro Wirz (b. 1981, BR/CH), Sislej Xhafa (b. 1970, KO)
Sat 31 Aug 4:00 PM
In cooperation with Argovia Philharmonic, Kosovar Artist Sislej Xhafa presents a new adaptation of his Performance Again and Again (2000–2019), which he developed especially for the exhibition MASK.
Meet in front of the Aargauer Kunsthaus
Please register by email
The Performance takes place in advance of the Opening of the exhibitions MASK and CARAVAN 3/2019: Mahtola Wittmer.
Sat 31 Aug 5:00 PM
Preview of the exhibitions MASK and CARAVAN 3/2019: Mahtola Wittmer exclusively for sponsors and members of the Aargau Art Association
Sat 31 Aug 6:00 PM
Meet at 6 pm in the studio, lower floor
For children of 5 years and older
Sat 31 Aug 6:00 PM
Welcome fromMadeleine Schuppli, Director Aargauer Kunsthaus,Roberto Belci, Member of the Executive Board NEUE AARGAUER BANK AG,Bettina Mühlebach, Assistant Curator Aargauer Kunsthaus
Followed by a reception in the foyer and dinner on the roof terrace
Sun 01 Sep 11:00 AM
with Brigitte Haas
Thu 05 Sep 6:30 PM
A change of scenery after work before we go home? Food for soul and spirit?
Come to the Kunsthaus together with your colleagues. Our guided tour will bring you to new thoughts: Stroll through our special exhibition MASK and then relax with a glass of Prosecco and full of "Passion for Art" – especially created for you. Cheers Art!
Public guided tour of the exhibition MASK. In Present-Day Art at the Aargauer Kunsthaus with Brigitte Haas
Followed by a Prosecco reception
...and you only pay the entrance fee!
Sun 08 Sep 11:00 AM
with Brigitte Haas
Thu 12 Sep 6:30 PM
A change of scenery after work before we go home? Food for soul and spirit?
Come to the Kunsthaus together with your colleagues. Our guided tour will bring you to new thoughts: Stroll through our special exhibition MASK and then relax with a glass of Prosecco and full of "Passion for Art" – especially created for you. Cheers Art!
Public guided tour of the exhibition MASK. In Present-Day Art at the Aargauer Kunsthaus with Brigitte Haas
Followed by a Prosecco reception
...and you only pay the entrance fee!
Sun 15 Sep 11:00 AM
with Astrid Näff, art historian
Thu 19 Sep 6:30 PM
A change of scenery after work before we go home? Food for soul and spirit?Come to the Kunsthaus together with your colleagues. Our guided tour will bring you to new thoughts: Stroll through our special exhibition MASK and then relax with a glass of Prosecco and full of "Passion for Art" – especially created for you. Cheers Art!Public guided tour of the exhibition MASK. In Present-Day Art at the Aargauer Kunsthaus with Astrid Näff, art historianFollowed by a Prosecco reception...and you only pay the entrance fee!
Sat 21 Sep 11:30 AM
Der Performancepreis Schweiz 2019 gastiert dieses Jahr im Kanton Aargau. Er wird veranstaltet vom Aargauer Kuratorium und kommt am 21. September 2019 im Aargauer Kunsthaus zur Austragung.
Der Performancepreis Schweiz erhöht die Sichtbarkeit der Schweizer Performancekunst, zeigt ihre Vielfalt und Qualität, und stärkt ihre Anerkennung. Der jährlich national ausgeschriebene Wettbewerb ist offen für Bewerbungen von Kunstschaffenden mit einer performativen Praxis aus allen Sparten. Der Performancepreis Schweiz ist eine partnerschaftliche Förderinitiative der Kantone Aargau, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Luzern, St. Gallen, Zürich und der Stadt Genf.
FinalistsCamille Alena (Fribourg), Manifesto Reflex Collective (Basel), Raphaëlle Mueller (Geneva), Romy Rüegger (Zürich), Davide-Christelle Sanvee (Geneva), Steven Schoch (Basel), Julie Semoroz (Geneva)
Program
11.30 am WelcomeMadeleine Schuppli, Director Aargauer KunsthausUrs Hoffmann, Landammann and Head of the Department of Economic Affairs and Home Affairs of the Canton of AargauSusanne König, Aargauer Kuratorium, Chair Visual Arts & Performance12.15–6 pm Performances12.15 pm Romy Rüegger (-1F1) / Julie Semoroz (1F2)1 pm Manifesto Reflex Collective (roof)2 pm Romy Rüegger (-1F1) / Julie Semoroz (1F2)2.30 pm Raphaëlle Mueller (-1F2, continuous until 16 h)3.30 pm Camille Alena (-1F1) / Steven Schoch (1F1)4.15 pm Davide-Christelle Sanvee (foyer)5.15 pm Camille Alena (-1F1) / Steven Schoch (1F1)Due to limited space, certain performances are shown twice.7–9 pm Special program in the Kunstraum AarauGregory Hari performs at the invitation of the artist collective U5.Kunstraum Aarau, Ochsengässli 7, 5000 Aarau
9 pm Award ceremonySusanne König, Aargauer Kuratorium, Chair Visual Arts & PerformanceThe exhibition MASK is open throughout.Admission is free on the occasion of the Swiss Performance Art Award.
Sun 22 Sep 11:00 AM
with Silja Burch, art historian
Mon 23 Sep 7:30 PM
In the visual arts, the mask is a theme with a long tradition and enduring popularity, as numerous contemporary works prove. Contemporary artists devote themselves on the one hand to the object itself, and on the other to its political and social implications.
With Yasmin Afschar, Curator at the Aargauer Kunsthaus
An event of the Volkshochschule Zürich VHS ZH
Venue: University of Zurich, Centre
Part 2 (Guided Tour) takes place on Friday 27.9.
Online registrationwww.vhszh.ch
Thu 26 Sep 6:30 PM
A change of scenery after work before we go home? Food for soul and spirit?Come to the Kunsthaus together with your colleagues. Our guided tour will bring you to new thoughts: Stroll through our special exhibition MASK and then relax with a glass of Prosecco and full of "Passion for Art" – especially created for you. Cheers Art!Public guided tour of the exhibition MASK. In Present-Day Art at the Aargauer Kunsthaus with Sibilla Caflisch, art historianFollowed by a Prosecco reception...and you only pay the entrance fee!
Fri 27 Sep 2:00 PM
The international group exhibition MASK explores the question of how the theme is treated in contemporary art. On display are around 160 works by artists including Silvia Bächli and Eric Hattan, Hélène Delprat, Cecilia Edefalk, Laura Lima, Ugo Rondinone, Cindy Sherman, Simon Starling and Gillian Wearing.
With Madeleine Schuppli, Director of the Aargauer Kunsthaus
Venue: Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau
Part 1 (Lecture) takes place on Monday 23.9.
Online registrationwww.vhszh.ch
Sun 29 Sep 11:00 AM
with Sibilla Caflisch, art historian
Thu 03 Oct 6:30 PM
A change of scenery after work before we go home? Food for soul and spirit?
Come to the Kunsthaus together with your colleagues. Our guided tour will bring you to new thoughts: Stroll through our special exhibition MASK and then relax with a glass of Prosecco and full of "Passion for Art" – especially created for you. Cheers Art!
Public guided tour of the Exhibition MASK. In Present-Day Art at the Aargauer Kunsthaus with Sibilla Caflisch, art historian
Followed by a Prosecco reception
...and you only pay the entrance fee!
Sun 06 Oct 11:00 AM
with Silja Burch, art historian
Thu 10 Oct 6:30 PM
A change of scenery after work before we go home? Food for soul and spirit?
Come to the Kunsthaus together with your colleagues. Our guided tour will bring you to new thoughts: Stroll through our special Exhibition MASK and then relax with a glass of Prosecco and full of "Passion for Art" – especially created for you. Cheers Art!
Public guided tour of the Exhibition MASK. In Present-Day Art at the Aargauer Kunsthaus with Silja Burch, art historian
Followed by a Prosecco reception
...and you only pay the entrance fee!
Sun 13 Oct 11:00 AM
with Silja Burch, art historian
Wed 16 Oct 7:00 PM
Inspired by the custom of the Silvesterkläuse, fashion designer Julian Zigerli and artist & textile designer Christoph Hefti work together. The result: the collection Ring my Bell - wild patterns, daring fabrics and many masks that Zigerli and Hefti present at the Aargauer Kunsthaus and discuss with journalist Claudia Schmid.
Followed by a reception
Thu 17 Oct 6:30 PM
A change of scenery after work before we go home? Food for soul and spirit?
Come to the Kunsthaus together with your colleagues. Our guided tour will bring you to new thoughts: Stroll through our special exhibition MASK and then relax with a glass of Prosecco and full of "Passion for Art" – especially created for you. Cheers Art!
Public guided tour of the Exhibition MASK. In Present-Day Art at the Aargauer Kunsthaus with Brigitte Haas
Followed by a Prosecco reception
...and you only pay the entrance fee!
Sun 20 Oct 11:00 AM
with Silja Burch, art historian
Thu 24 Oct 6:30 PM
A change of scenery after work before we go home? Food for soul and spirit?
Come to the Kunsthaus together with your colleagues. Our guided tour will bring you to new thoughts: Stroll through our special exhibition MASK and then relax with a glass of Prosecco and full of "Passion for Art" – especially created for you. Cheers Art!
Public guided tour of the Exhibition MASK. In Present-Day Art at the Aargauer Kunsthaus with Astrid Näff, art historian
Followed by a Prosecco reception
...and you only pay the entrance fee!
Thu 24 Oct 7:45 PM
Just as in art, masks and questions about one's own identity are closely connected in literature. Join us on a journey of thought: You put on the "mask", we guide you through exciting, amusing and thought-provoking literary texts on the subject.
Curated and commented by Dr. Gesa Schneider, Head of the Literaturhaus Zurich; read by Isabelle Menke, actress
Followed by a reception
Sun 27 Oct 11:00 AM
with Brigitte Haas
Thu 31 Oct 5:30 PM
Turning into ghosts, pirates and princes? At the horror festival, the children immerse themselves in the world of masquerade. In the studio they create masks and breathe life into the characters at a roaring ball.
The Halloween Party awaits Children ages 7–13.
Thu 31 Oct 6:30 PM
In the field of tension between masking and unmasking, 36 artists from twelve countries are taking on the theme of masks. They subject both the term and the object to diagnosis and re-evaluation in the light of our time. The curator of the exhibition will guide you through the most important aspects of this explosive and complex topic.
With Madeleine Schuppli, Director and Curator
Fri 01 Nov 6:00 PM
In dialogue with the exhibition, the percussionist and Composer Fritz Hauser fills the Kunsthaus with sound: a spectacular collective performance involving 100 Performers.
A project by Künstlerhaus Boswil in cooperation with Aargauer Kunsthaus
Presalewww.reservix.ch / office@kuenstlerhausboswil.ch / +41 56 666 12 85
Fri 01 Nov 7:30 PM
In dialogue with the exhibition, the percussionist and Composer Fritz Hauser fills the Kunsthaus with sound: a spectacular collective performance involving 100 Performers.
A project by Künstlerhaus Boswil in cooperation with Aargauer Kunsthaus
Presalewww.reservix.ch / office@kuenstlerhausboswil.ch / +41 56 666 12 85
Sat 02 Nov 6:00 PM
In dialogue with the exhibition, the percussionist and Composer Fritz Hauser fills the Kunsthaus with sound: a spectacular collective performance involving 100 Performers.
A project by Künstlerhaus Boswil in cooperation with Aargauer Kunsthaus
Presalewww.reservix.ch / office@kuenstlerhausboswil.ch / +41 56 666 12 85
Sat 02 Nov 7:30 PM
In dialogue with the exhibition, the percussionist and Composer Fritz Hauser fills the Kunsthaus with sound: a spectacular collective performance involving 100 Performers.
A project by Künstlerhaus Boswil in cooperation with Aargauer Kunsthaus
Presalewww.reservix.ch / office@kuenstlerhausboswil.ch / +41 56 666 12 85
Sun 03 Nov 11:00 AM
with Brigitte Haas
Sun 03 Nov 11:00 AM
with Brigitte Haas
Thu 07 Nov 6:30 PM
with Brigitte Haas
Sat 09 Nov 3:00 PM
Dive into the darkened Kunsthaus, stick to the armchair, chew popcorn and sometimes even fingernails: We offer a mini-festival in three blocks around the mask in film, from experimental flicks to horror blockbusters. Meet the rigid face of Buster Keaton, the eyes without face of Edith Scob in Georges Franju, and the hockey mask of serial killer Jason Vorhees in Friday the 13th.Film expert Michael Sennhauser gives introductions to each of the three film blocks with examples and excerpts from film history.Film block 1, 3 - 5 pm:Les yeux sans visage, Director: Georges Franju, France, 1960 (French with English subtitles, 90')Film block 2, 6 pm - 8 pm:The Mask with Jim Carrey, Director: Chuck Russell, USA, 1994 (English with German subtitles, 101')Movie block 3, 9 - 11 pm:Twarz (Mug/Fresse), Director: Malgorzata Szumowska, Poland, 2018 (Polish with German subtitles, 91')Curated and commented by Michael Sennhauser, among others film editor SRFBetween the film blocks: food and drinks at the cinema bar
Sun 10 Nov 11:00 AM
with Sibilla Caflisch
Thu 14 Nov 6:30 PM
A change of scenery after work before we go home? Food for soul and spirit? Come to the Kunsthaus together with your colleagues. Our guided tour will bring you to new thoughts: Stroll through our special exhibition MASK and then relax with a glass of Prosecco and full of "Passion for Art" – especially created for you. Cheers Art!
Public guided tour of the Exhibition MASK. In Present-Day Art at the Aargauer Kunsthaus with Brigitte Haas
Followed by a Prosecco reception
...and you only pay the entrance fee!
Sun 24 Nov 3:00 PM
The three Swiss artists Sabian Baumann, Nathalie Bissig and Pedro Wirz talk about individual and workspecific approaches to the subject of masks: the socially standardized mask, the mask in nature, the ritual mask; material, craftsmanship and staging.With Yasmin Afschar, Curator Aargauer Kunsthaus
Thu 28 Nov 6:30 PM
with Brigitte Haas
Tue 03 Dec 6:30 PM
Simon Starling, the British artist and Turner Prize winner discusses the video Installation Project for a Masquerade (Hiroshima) (2010–2011) with Madeleine Schuppli, Director Aargauer Kunsthaus.
Followed by a reception
Sun 08 Dec 11:00 AM
with Brigitte Haas
Tue 10 Dec 6:30 PM
Wo tolerieren wir Masken in unserem Alltag? In welchen Situationen wünschen wir sie uns vielleicht sogar herbei? Wo erwarten wir, dass Menschen Masken fallen lassen? Dr. med. Anja Nevely, Leiterin Klinik für Forensische Psychiatrie Kanton Aargau, und Lukas Stuck, reformierter Pfarrer in Zofingen, diskutieren zusammen mit Karin Salm, Journalistin und Autorin.