For over four decades, Alfredo Jaar has used photography, film, installation, and new media to create compelling works that examine complex socio-political issues and the ethics and limits of representation. His exhibition The Temptation to Exist at Galerie Thomas Schulte, whose title makes reference to a book by Emil Cioran, showcases some of Jaar's own works alongside artworks from around 50 other artists who have sought to resist and change the world since the 1950s. The show is an examination of memory and political participation, revealing the intersection between culture and democratic life, invoking a shared history and reclaiming agency.

In the Corner Space, Hans Haacke's work Grass Grows will be on display.In the first gallery room, an immersive experience is created with a large, red neon work by Jaar himself. Eschewing the presence of other objects, the room is entirely illuminated with a dense red light, building an atmosphere of poetic uncertainty, mirroring the unease of contemporary times.

In the second gallery space, Jaar has tried to create what he calls 'a space of resistance, a space of hope.' Here, in close proximity to each other, more than 50 works are exhibited in juxtaposition to Jaar's own neon work that was primarily created in resistance to Pinochet's dictatorial regime in Chile. The list of artists includes Bas Jan Ader, Rosa Barba, Letizia Battaglia, Dawoud Bey, Monica Bonvicini, Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, Stanley Brouwn, Giovanna Calvenzi, Angela de la Cruz, Hanne Darboven, Gino De Dominicis, Juan Downey, Valie Export, Hamish Fulton, Hans Haacke, Mona Hatoum, Jenny Holzer, Rebecca Horn, Ann Veronica Janssens, Joan Jonas, Birgit Jürgenssen, On Kawara, Seydou Keïta, Grada Kilomba, Cosima zu Knyphausen, Joseph Kosuth, Jannis Kounellis, Mischa Kuball, Piero Manzoni, Gordon Matta-Clark, Zanele Muholi, Shirin Neshat, Yoko Ono, Anna Oppermann, Giuseppe Penone, Susan Philipsz, Charlotte Posenenske, Gerhard Richter, Fred Sandback, Karin Sander, Carolee Schneemann, Malick Sidibé, Katharina Sieverding, Dayanita Singh, Nancy Spero, Rosemarie Trockel, Reijiro Wada, Lawrence Weiner, and Francesca Woodman.

Press release courtesy Galerie Thomas Schulte.