ART CITIES:L.A.-Isa Genzken

Isa’s Genzken influential work is characterized by radical innovation and includes works in almost every conceivable medium. Its foundations are in sculpture, but over time Genzken has explored an increasingly broad artistic terrain. In the past 40 years, she has produced series of works in a variety of media and modes. Her works may vary in appearance but always have strong personal touch.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Hauser Wirth & Schimmel Archive

Isa Genzken and Michael Asher had first met in Europe, but their time together in Los Angeles remains a significant event in Genzken’s life. For “I Love Michael Asher” her first large-scale solo exhibition in California, she will produce a new sculptural installation specifically for the city of Los Angeles and in homage to her friendship with Asher. Isa Genzken is a child of the ‘60s who embraced the sometimes violent leftist idealism of her generation. She was introduced to a circle of artists with radical ideals and practices, including: Sigmar Polke, Bruce Nauman, Dan Graham, Lawrence Weiner, and Gerhard Richter. The artist was in her late 20s when she began teaching sculpture at the Düsseldorf Academy, where she also received a travel grant to visit New York and Los Angeles. There she met with  Dan Graham, Lawrence Weiner, Michael Asher, and musician Kim Gordon, who would become lead guitarist in the band Sonic Youth in 1981. She describes her way of working with two quotes: “I like to put things together that were previously unconnected. This connection is like a handshake between people”. And: “I love being daring”. Genzken’s work has been part of the artistic discourse since she began exhibiting in the mid-1970s, but over the last decade a new generation has been inspired by her radical inventiveness. The past 10 years have been particularly productive for Genzken, who, with a new language of found objects and collage, has created several bodies of work that have redefined assemblage for a new era. These groups of sculptures range from smaller, diorama-like works to room-filling installations. The innovativeness and inventiveness of her work, rich in autobiographical elements and subtle comments on society, serve as a reference point and source of inspiration for generations of artists and art lovers.

Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, 901 East 3rd Street, Los Angeles, Duration: 15/10-31/12/16, Days & Hours: Wed & Fri-Sun 11:00-18:00, Thu 11:00-20:00,  www.hauserwirth.com