Regionale 24. Touch and Fire

Curated by Simone Neuenschwander and Noëlle Pia

Two motifs crystallize in the exhibition: touch and fire. The works of 19 artists spread out in the field of tension between hands, which suggest tactile and mental touch, and the oppressive danger of fire. "Touch" is revealed in the handling of soft and hard materials, the investigation of consistencies, direct and indirect imprints, and as a metaphor of art production itself. In addition to the sense of touch, which can have material as well as emotional functions, other sensory modalities are addressed such as the sense of hearing, motor function, and the generation of memory. Fire encompasses another dimension: heat as a sensory stimulus is highly threatening and also refers to the forest fires in Europe and the need for action in the face of the climate crisis. In this context, the German sayings “die Hand ins Feuer legen” (“to put one's hand in the fire”) and “es brennt unter den Fingernägeln” (“it burns under the fingernails”) underline the urgency of creating art and reacting to our current world.