exhibition
from 07.10.2022 to 19.03.2023

Am Hebel der Welt

Sebastian Tröger

Nuremberg artist Sebastian Tröger (born 1986) has made a new work that extends across the façade at Neues Museum. Am Hebel der Welt (At the Levers of the World) consists of six large-format black-and-white paintings, each depicting a separate scene.

With their loose hanging, they recall tapestries or a theatre curtain. In terms of content, they refer to the five-act structure of classical drama, with the sixth offering a conciliatory ending in addition to the usual calamity. In this way, the façade spaces tell a coherent visual story.

Tröger’s concept plays with the viewer’s changing positions and perspectives: while the view from outside takes in the story as a whole, while walking through the rooms the narrative flow is repeatedly interrupted, foregrounding strong individual images. As well as referencing art history (Japanese ink painting, A. R. Penck, etc.), the work questions Tröger’s self-image as an artist and addresses the crises and challenges of our time.