LUCERNE.- The point of departure for Micha Zweifel’s (*1987) work is the heterogeneity of the world, the simultaneity of different perceptions. The artist is interested in how the world is shaped. How architecture, logos, ads, workplaces and the many inconspicuous little things we encounter but often do not perceive consciously, impact our bodies and our psyche?

For the exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Luzern, Micha Zweifel created a series of new plaster reliefs and a sculpture, among other things, during a sojourn this summer at the Sitterwerk art foundry in St. Gallen. He combines his works within a spatial setting that engages with the theme of the cul de sac (dead end) and other experiences of space. Emptiness meets density, darkness meets light, windows enable views, a door leads nowhere, and anyone who climbs the stairs finds himself in a room that may even recall a restaurant. Zur Sackgasse 4. Stock (Cul de Sac 4th floor) also comments, tongue-in-cheek, on the architecture of the KLL, in which visitors often tend to get lost.

In addition to his everyday living environment, Micha Zweifel’s work is also replete with references to art history and folk art, be that the peasant scenes by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525–1569), Modernist sculptures, or the carved wooden figures or peasant painting by Ludwig Kirchner (1880–1938). The Calendar series recalls cattle drives up to the Appenzell alpine pastures. This latest series of white plaster reliefs is based on a casting model that changes slightly from image to image. First, an alp turns up in the mountain landscape. Then that landscape slowly becomes urban, the Swiss Alps become a Dutch city. The series is thus a three-dimensional expression of time and has the potential to continue growing.

Micha Zweifel’s bronze sculptures take up themes from classical sculpture or the fragmentation and dynamics of Cubism and Futurism. The vulnerability they exude results essentially from the technique and the concomitant surface finish. When making these bronze sculptures the artist forms the casting model by welding the wax slabs together directly; these normally only serve to transfer a model. Because he leaves out the intermediary step, there is always only just one single cast; the model is lost during casting. The seams, the openings and the view inside seem to speak of hard times, but the mischievous faces contrast with this, as does the dancing pose in the case of LIFT. Micha Zweifel’s works have a characteristic haptic quality and workmanlike finish. For this reason, he believes it is important to master techniques himself and explore how they can be employed even in a way that is contrary to traditional methods.

The Manor Art Prize is one of the most important promotional prices presented in Switzerland.

It is presented annually in six regions of the country to artists under the age of 40.

Curated by Eveline Suter