Luis Camnitzer is a conceptual artist who has been until very recently an insider’s tip. The solo exhibition at Daros Exhibitions in Zürich, Switzerland, offers visitors a close look at his work. The exhibition is drawn from the Daros Latinamerica Collection that possesses the world’s largest insitutional collection of Luis Camnitzer’s work. The exhibition has been curated by Hans-Michael Herzog and Katrin Steffen (Co-Curator).
VernissageTV’s Sabine Trieloff met with Luis Camnitzer on the occasion of the launch of the comprehensive catalogue that accompanies the exhibition. In this conversation, Luis Camnitzer talks about the exhibition and his work in general, about what defines the value of an artwork, and his way to stay independent.
Luis Camnitzer was born in Germany in 1937, grew up in Montevideo, and has lived and worked in New York since 1964. He has made his mark internationally not only as an artist but as a critic, educator and art theorist as well. Formally allied with the American Conceptualists of the 1960s and 1970s, over the past 50 years Camnitzer has developed an essentially autonomous oeuvre, unmistakably distinguished from that of his colleagues in the US by its acutely observed detail, its acerbic wit, its ludic-lyrical qualities and its ironically metaphorical polyvalence, as well as by its solid socio-political commitment.
The comprehensive catalogue that accompanies the exhibition was published in Spanish and English by Hatje Cantz Verlag. In addition to a conversation between Luis Camnitzer and Hans-Michael Herzog, the publication also includes essays by Sabeth Buchmann, Antonio Eligio Fernández (Tonel), Michael Glasmeier, Maren Welsch and Luis Camnitzer.
Luis Camnitzer, Daros Exhibitions, Löwenbräu-Areal, Zürich / Switzerland, June 13, 2010.