Roman Signer

Last updated

Roman Signer (born 1938 in Appenzell, Switzerland) is a artist who works in sculpture, art installation, photography, and video.

Contents

Early life and career

Signer started his career as an artist at the age of 28, after working various jobs such as an architect’s draughtsman and a radio engineer apprentice. He holds degrees from arts institutions in Switzerland and Poland. He studied at the Schule für Gestaltung in Zurich and Lucerne from 1966 to 1971, and at the Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw from 1971 to 1972. [1]

Work

"Boot Fountain" in Solothurn Roman Signer - Stiefel-Brunnen in Solothurn.jpg
"Boot Fountain" in Solothurn
Der Tisch (The Table) in Appenzell Roman Signer "Der Tisch".JPG
Der Tisch (The Table) in Appenzell

Signer's work grew out of land art and performance art. [2] It is often described as following the tradition of the Swiss engineer-artist, such as Jean Tinguely and Peter Fischli & David Weiss. [3]

Signer creates art centred around "controlled destruction, not destruction for its own sake", using or destroying everyday objects in unusual ways for an artistic result. [4] Many of his happenings are not for public viewing, and are only documented in photos and film. [5]

As well as working in his studio, Signer often conducts larger experiments in the Swiss mountains. [6] One example of his installation work is "Accident as sculpture" (Unfall als Skulptur) (2008), in which Signer had a three-wheeled delivery car, loaded with water barrels, roll down an 11 m high ramp and up the other side. At the apex, the vehicle overturned and crashed to the ground. The resulting chaotic arrangement constituted the exhibition at Kunstraum Dornbirn  [ de ]. [7]

Roman Signer performs 'Fallende Reifen' (Falling Tires) as a part of minus20degree 2022. Pictured is a helicopter, in which Signer sits, throwing tires onto the field of snow below. Roman Signer Fallende Reifen minus20degree 2022.jpg
Roman Signer performs 'Fallende Reifen' (Falling Tires) as a part of minus20degree 2022. Pictured is a helicopter, in which Signer sits, throwing tires onto the field of snow below.

A collaborative film from 1996 with director Peter Liechti titled "Signer's Koffer" (English: "Signer's Suitcase") documents a series of his "action sculptures" along with interviews of Roman Signer and other characters encountered during his travels performing the work.[ citation needed ]

Exhibitions

Signer's work has been shown at galleries and museums in Europe, North America and Asia over the last thirty years. It was featured in Venice Biennale (1976), documenta 8, Kassel (1987), Skulptur Projekte Münster (1997), and minus20degree (2022). [8] [9]

In 2016, the Kunstmuseum Basel acquired 205 films by Signer in Super 8 format, which were then exhibited at the museum as well at the MAN Museum in Nuoro. [10] The films shown were all produced between 1975 and 1989 and were all silent and shorter than three minutes.[ citation needed ]

Selected solo shows

Awards

Bibliography

Influences

A photo of Signer's "Wasser Stiefel" serves as the cover art of Upgrade & Afterlife (1996), an album by American experimental music group Gastr del Sol. [12]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Roman Signer – Hauser & Wirth".
  2. ↑ "Roman Signer: Works". Fruitmarket. Archived from the original on 2013-09-22. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  3. ↑ Roman Signer Skulptur Projekte Münster.
  4. ↑ Neulinger, Jakob. "Roman Signer". Frieze Magazine. Translated by Nicholas Grindell. Archived from the original on 2013-09-22. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  5. ↑ Roman Signer – Four Rooms, One Artist Swiss Institute, New York.
  6. ↑ "Roman Signer - Four Rooms, One Artist". Swiss Institute. Archived from the original on October 24, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  7. ↑ Adamer, Ingrid. "Installation - Unfall als Skulptur" [Installation - Accident as a Sculpture]. Kunstraum Dornbirn (in German). Archived from the original on July 6, 2011.
  8. ↑ Roman Signer Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh.
  9. ↑ Nachrichten, Salzburger (2022-01-22). ""minus20degree": Flachau wurde wieder zur Leinwand". www.sn.at (in German). Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  10. ↑ "Roman Signer "Films and Installations" at MAN, Nuoro". Mousse Magazine. 2016-05-16. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  11. ↑ "Le point de vue de Christophe Le Gac". artpress (in French). 2019-08-01. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
  12. ↑ Upgrade & Afterlife (liner notes). Gastr del Sol. Drag City. 1996. DC90CD.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.