The Swiss artist Beat Zoderer (born 1955) takes an anarchic, concrete approach, masterfully breaking open the hermeticism and dogmatism of geometry and abstraction. Paraphrasing Friedrich Nietzsche, one might speak of a “gay concretion”: the painted panel picture is dethroned.
In most cases, Zoderer begins with materials not usually associated with art, which define the colour palette of the results. The artist seeks the everyday, preferring DIY, stationery and craft supply stores to those selling materials created specifically for artists. The materials listed in connection with Zoderer’s work routinely include adhesive tape, textile ribbons, sheet metal, reinforcement grilles, even keys from discarded computer keyboards. “And suddenly you see this material that you already know, that you see and use almost every day, in a totally different context”, says Zoderer. This experimental approach is typical of his techniques, that do not stop at using chalk lines, bush hammers and cutting wheels.
This is the first exhibition in which Zoderer focuses on the phenomenon of the void as the essential complement to form: “I’m actually more interested in the holes in a grid or system.” The aspect of the void is joined by light as an immaterial factor: in the three outer rooms of the ground floor, Zoderer has installed a series of luminous works including a 3.5-metre balloon hung with 24 neon tubes painted in different colours.