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| Charlotte Posenenske, installation view, Modern Art |
I find it difficult to come to
terms with the fact that art can contribute nothing to the solution of pressing
social problems. – Charlotte Posenenske, “Statement”, 11 February 1968.
Charlotte Posenenske (b.
Wiesbaden, 1930, d. Frankfurt, 1985) made pioneering contributions to Minimalist
and Conceptual art during her short-lived artistic career. Rediscovered only
posthumously, her predominantly sculptural output has influenced younger
generations of artists since the 1990s.
Envisioning art as a social
and participatory act that should be opened to wider public engagement, rather
than a product defined by transactional values between individuals,
Posenenske produced large-scale sculptural works that were functional and easy
to install, including non-figurative panels, folded and tilted works, reliefs,
and square tubes in steel and cardboard. She determined not to restrict the
number of elements produced, and matched their retail prices to their
manufacturing costs in order to undermine the compulsory capitalist value-added
system of the art market.
Following considerable critical
attention and in the wake of the political events of 1968 and the rise of the
‘art market’, Posenenske published a manifesto stating that art did not
have the sufficient impact to solve urgent social issues. The document, which
in turn marked her withdrawal from artistic production, concludes with statement
quoted above.
The exhibition at Modern Art
comprises works from three key facets of Posenenske’s practice. Early works on
paper from the 1950s, the Series B Reliefs (1967) - a group of sheet
aluminium sculptures of elementary forms in primary colours, which are among her
earliest sculptural works; the Series D Vierkantrohe (Square Tubes) (1967)
which are made of galvanized metal sheets and recall ventilation ducting - here Posenenske turned to industrially fabricated materials in the spirit of
American counterparts such as Donald Judd and Richard Serra, signalling her
abandonment of the individual artistic gesture. Similarly, the Series DW Square
Tubes (1967) constructed from corrugated cardboard, are mass-produced and
modular elements.
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| Charlotte Posenenske, from Works on Paper, 1950s |
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| Charlotte Posenenske, from Works on Paper, 1950s |
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| Charlotte Posenenske, from Works on Paper, 1950s |
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| Charlotte Posenenske, installation view, Modern Art |
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| Charlotte Posenenske, installation view, Modern Art |
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