Lot 18 | Peter Fischli and David Weiss | Son et Lumière (Le Rayon vert)

FISCHLI AND DAVID WEISS, PETER
1952 Zurich / 1946 - 2012 Zurich

Title: Son et Lumière (Le Rayon vert).
Subtitle: 3 parts.
Date: 1990.
Technique: Kinetic object. Army lamp with red-green foils, 2 ribbed plastic cups, turntable.
Measurement: 15 x 38 x 20,5cm.
Notation: Signed on the turntable verso: Fischli D. Weiss. Dedictated above: FÜR KASPAR (sic.) KÖNIG.


Outside the numbered edition of 24 copies.

Provenance:
- Kasper König Collection, Berlin (directly from artist)

Exhibitions:
- König Galerie, Berlin 2019

Literature:
- Cf. Goldmann, Renate: Peter Fischli David Weiss. Ausflüge, Arbeiten, Ausstellungen. Ein offener Index, Cologne 2006, pp. 303-308

Der Lauf der Dinge (The course of things)
The Swiss artist duo Peter Fischli and David Weiss are among the most influential artists and first appeared in 1979 with the so-called " Wurstserie" (sausage series). Fischli-Weiss pose seemingly banal everyday questions in an innocuous and humorous way, using a variety of different media to do so. In 1987, the 16-mm color film "Der Lauf der Dinge", shown at documenta 8, helped them achieve international fame.

Fischli-Weiss and Kasper König
In 1987, the duo was not only presented there, but also as part of the second exhibition in the internationally renowned "Skulptur Projekte Münster" series. In the exhibition series initiated by König, the two show a "house" on a scale of 1:5. The unadorned model house with a functional façade resembles the buildings of post-war modernism and, according to the artists, is intended to "radiate bland, conformist ordinariness" (translated). The model is staged as an example of non-architecture that claims a spatial presence in the public sphere with its meaningless existence. König will continue to involve the artist duo in his projects in the coming years. The following year, he honored the artists with a solo exhibition at Portikus in Frankfurt am Main. Here they show monochrome sculptures made of rubber. Last but not least, their contribution to the third edition of "Skulptur Projekte Münster" in 1997, in the form of a garden designed by Fischli and Weiss, testifies to the diversity of media used in their work.

Son et Lumière
The kinetic work "Son et Lumière" from 1990, which comes from König's private collection, is a multiple. An army lamp, emitting red or green light, illuminates a loosely placed plastic cup on a rotating turntable. The cup - strongly reminiscent of the traditional "Schoppen" in which cider is served in the Frankfurt area - creates a multifaceted play of light. The specific choice of material and the title - actually a reference to a night-time sound and light show at a historic location - adds a humorous layer to the work that subtly encourages reflection on the materiality of contemporary art. The work was part of the New York Guggenheim retrospective in 2016.