Come-in: Interior Design as a Contemporary Art Medium in Germany

Come-in. Interior Design as a Contemporary Art Medium in Germany investigates the connection between fine art and applied design and opens a panorama of apparent approximations and at the same time demarcations between these two creative fields. Twenty-five artists, representing different artistic positions, show individual objects, sculptures, installations, videos and – in the exhibition catalogue – inserts.

The exhibition explores the features, ways of viewing and considerations behind the mobilia, objects and interior furnishings which – subtly staged – first appear to possess an ‘obvious’ identity as ‘furniture’, ‘luminary’ or ‘interior‘. They recommend themselves as designs for a bench, a couch, a table, a furnishing landscape. Once executed, however, they are too uncomfortable, unergonomic, flashy and eccentric, all too clearly geared to our perception or a situational communicative event to be seen as merely functional, utilitarian. Rather they reflect ideas or drafts, scenic reinterpretations of situations conditioned by certain furnishing and architectural elements.

The design of these ‘mobilia’ restricts itself to the apparent surface function and uses a popular vocabulary of seduction, or enticement, which draws attention to a certain milieu, its inner conditions and conventions. This provides completely different fields of reference outside the functional realm. In many cases, the objects give an idea of the interior spaces for which they were created and which form links between aspects of contemporary history and the artists’ own biography and critical aesthetics.

Every institution hosting this touring exhibition is invited to choose and exhibit additional works from its own country for the duration of the show there. These should represent one artistic position dealing with the theme of the exhibition and should draw attention to the relevance of the exhibition Come-in to many contemporary artists worldwide.

Curator : Renate Goldmann
Artists : Bettina Allamoda, John Bock, Matti Braun, Björn Dahlem, Tobias Danke, Raphael Danke, Heide Deigert, Christina Doll, Stefan Eberstadt, Extramücadele, Christian Flamm, Claus Föttinger, Dorothee Golz, Hans Hemmert, Eva Hertzsch, Stefan Kern, Andree Korpys, Markus Löffler, Isa Melsheimer, Adam Page, Tobias Rehberger, Peter Rösel, Daniel Roth, Silke Schatz, Erik Schmidt, Gregor Schneider, Tilo Schulz, Johannes Spehr, Jörg Wagner, Corinna Weidner