Hamburger Kunsthalle

Art And Alphabet

21 Jul - 29 Oct 2017

ART AND ALPHABET
21 July - 29 October 2017

CURATOR: Dr Brigitte Kölle

The large-scale exhibition Art and Alphabet explores the complex relationship between writing and images in contemporary art. The basic components of writing – letters, symbols and alphabets – are key elements in the featured artworks, which analyse, manipulate and modify these visual signs. The focus shifts from reading to seeing, from deciphering to perceiving, resulting in a curious back-and-forth between writing and image.

As a visual language, writing also plays a fundamental role in the construction of personal, social and cultural identity, leading to the development of a great variety of alphabets and scripts. This has inspired many visual artists to recontextualise language as a medium of communication by moving it into the pictorial realm, where it can be explored, creatively extended or playfully transformed.

Art and Alphabet brings together works from the last 10 years by around 20 international artists, including pieces that have been produced especially for the exhibition. A number of individual works from the 1960s and 1970s provide a historical perspective on this fascinating theme.
 

Tags: Brigitte Kölle