Pavilion of Switzerland at the 56 Th International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia

Pamela Rosenkranz

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«I think that it is more interesting to talk about art in terms of the material that determines the work, rather than the artist’s identity...» Pamela Rosenkranz

Carneam, Evoin, Gleen, Magmelia, Neoten, Rilin, Solood and Visorb are like Aspirin, Acrylic, Methylene, Spandex, Silicone and Titanium, both literally and metaphorically, the stuff that Pamela Rosenkranz’ work is made of. While we aren’t familiar with most of these materials, their omnipresence manifestly changes the physical as well as the psychic constitution of human beings. Yet it isn’t obvious how it does so. The human subject is nothing but a fluid trace, a serial association generated from synthetic materials. The anthropocentric bias of humanism is thus faced with its own obsolescence: human beings are neither the origin nor the apogee of thought.

In an era characterized by rapid technological change, ecological crisis, and the ascendancy of the natural sciences, challenging the idea of man as the measure of all things, and indeed asking again what it means to be human, has become a timely and urgent task. In her work, Pamela Rosenkranz uses cutting-edge media and medical technologies and engages with the most recent developments in the natural sciences. Armed with findings that irredeemably undermine essentialist anthropologies, she confronts us with new material configurations of the human which have far-reaching consequences for our understanding of art.

Rosenkranz’ exhibition transmutes the Pavilion of Switzerland into a body of a local, pinkish white skin color, which is fluid, smells, shines, sounds and moves. A pigment that originally emerged as the specific product of migration, sun-exposure, nutrition, and any number of other contingent factors is resynthesized as a stock formula, composed of unknown ingredients.

On the occasion of the 56th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia Pamela Rosenkranz designed a stamp for the Swiss post using a specially developed combination of skin color and texture, which is closely related to her exhibition at the Pavilion of Switzerland.

Salon Suisse: S.O.S. DADA – The World Is A Mess

On five weekends over the course of the Biennale the events program «Salon Suisse», initiated by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and organized by the Dada-specialists Juri Steiner and Stefan Zweifel is taking place at the Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi offering a platform for exchange on contemporary art and thought in a relaxed atmosphere. For this year’s «Salon» entitled «S.O.S. DADA – The World Is A Mess» Steiner and Zweifel invite their guests from all over the world to discuss the cross-epochal force and the timelessness of Dada. All events are free of admission and open to everyone. Partner of «Salon Suisse» is LAUFEN Bathrooms AG.

Curator: Susanne Pfeffer

Commissioner: Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia – Marianne Burki, Head of Visual Arts; Sandi Paucic, Project Leader Swiss participation Venice Biennale

Deputy commissioner: Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia – Rachele Giudici Legittimo, Coordination Swiss participation Venice Biennale

Press conference: Wednesday, 6 May 2015, 4 pm

Opening: Friday, 8 May 2015, 5 pm

Exhibition: 9 May to 22 November 2015

For further information please visit: www.biennials.ch