This curated presentation brings together Isa Genzken's early exposed concrete sculptures, social facades, and later wall-works. Together, these works highlight the artist's continued interest in the structure, relevance and social aspect of modernist architecture. Genzken's early exposed concrete sculptures, such as 'Saal (Room)' (1989) evidence how she laid bare the core elements of modern architecture. Emphasizing the rawness and naturalness that characterize concrete, Genzken revealed the inherent rough beauty of the material, thus contradicting the machine aesthetics of minimalism.

With her 'Social Façades,' such as 'Untitled' (2017), the artist made the relationship between inside and out the crux of the matter. Creating impressions of high-rise facades by means of metal foil and adhesive tape, Genzken brings the impression of the skyline down to our level, enabling direct interaction with the aesthetics of a fluctuating urban fabric. Additional wall-works on view further demonstrate how Genzken has in recent years allowed more and more traces of her own life into her works. Inserting autobiographical encodings such as her self-portrait into her works has nothing to do with Expressionist notions of authorship. Instead, it underlines the continued social and personal element of Genzken's work.

Image: Isa Genzken, Untitled, 2018, Adhesive tape on aluminium panel © 2022, ProLitteris, Zurich. Courtesy the artist and Galerie Buchholz, Cologne/Berlin/New York. Photo: Jens Ziehe

Press release courtesy Hauser & Wirth.