For some years now contemporary Swiss art
has featured importantly on the international
stage. Accordingly, Kunsthaus Zürich feels that
the moment has come to turn the spotlight onto
this flourishing art scene in a wide-ranging
exhibition that is less about `nationality’ than
about "identity" - not only within Switzerland but
in the context of our globalized society as a
whole, where different individuals and cultures
seem to become ever more similar, even as
inequalities and exclusion bite ever deeper.
The absence or dissolution of identity on one
hand and new constructs of identity on the
other are reflected in the work of many artists
today - ranging from video works in which the
artist explores his or her own identity and role
in society to installations with "Doppelgänger"
figures in the shape of doll-like sculptures. In
keeping with the art world today, international
positions that are relevant to this theme are
also included in the exhibition - even if this
increasingly and bewilderingly blurs various
boundaries.

The fact is that many of those known as Swiss
artists are not Swiss at all, or were at least not
born in Switzerland.

Socio-political themes have come to the fore
once again in recent years. The issues that
concern artists are not only power and politics,
but also the systems that govern art and the
art market. In keeping with the increasing
politicization of art, a number of interventions
in public spaces will be realized during the
exhibition. And in the run-up to the exhibition,
a number of satellites will open in and around
the museum and there will be a series of
events focusing on the nature of "identity".

curated by Mirjam Varadinis and Alexandra Blättler

link: Kunsthaus Zürich, Shifting Identities