Opening: 30.11.2024, 14:00-18:00

Halle für Kunst Lüneburg is pleased to present "Silver Star," the first institutional solo exhibition of Michèle Graf and Selina Grüter in Germany.

Silver Star is the name of a so-called hypercoaster—a specific type of roller coaster designed for high speeds and airtime: the time an object spends in the air after leaving the ground, or rather, the sensation of weightlessness. The exhibition Silver Star is characterized by repetitive, rhythmic movements of seemingly "useless" kinetic objects, which demonstrate intricate craftsmanship and typically proceed smoothly without interruption. Disassembled clock springs vibrate, gears rotate, cords swing and whip into nowhere. But no rule comes without exceptions. The motor-driven movements are irregular, even seemingly out of sync, and possess a recalcitrant stubbornness beyond their assigned function as they encounter the specific characteristics of their repurposed materials—be it fishing line, clock strings, or wire. One-to-one translations falter here, when the movement and the whirring sound of one sculpture are gradually transferred to another. In the act of reappropriating alienated labor, Silver Star claims a niche for itself within a profitable production process and almost frees machines from the bourgeois notion of preventing wasted, “dead time” in the performance of work. While the fuel of modern value creation fizzles out here, Silver Star encourages us to lose our footing in our measured (time-) reality.

Michèle Graf (*1987, CH) and Selina Grüter (*1991, CH) are an artist duo living in New York. They studied media arts at Zurich University of the Arts and participated in the Whitney Independent Study Program. Recent exhibitions include 15th Baltic Triennial: Same Day, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius (LT); More Clock Work, Fanta-MLN, Milan (IT); Kartonagen, Lovay Fine Arts, Geneva (CH); and Clock Work, Kunstverein Kevin Space, Vienna (AT).

The exhibition is curated by Elisa R. Linn.

The annual program and the exhibition at Halle für Kunst Lüneburg e.V. is funded by the Ministry for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony, Lüneburgischer Landschaftsverband, and Hansestadt Lüneburg. The educational program at Halle für Kunst Lüneburg e.V. is funded by the Ministry for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony and VGH-Stiftung.

The exhibition is supported by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.