Exhibitions2017Proof of Life

Proof of Life brought together 100 paintings, sculptures and photographic works that investigate existential questions in a both palpable and profound manner. The presented works simultaneously quote, seduce, irritate, provoke and thematise concepts of moral values.

The works come from a private collection that has never before been publicly presented in this form. The exhibition presented a precise selection of impressive works by international artistic stars such as Louise Bourgeois, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Anton Corbijn, Tracey Emin, Nadav Kander, Damien Hirst, Daniel Richter and Gavin Turk.

A central work of the exhibition was Turk’s Death of Marat (1998) restaged as a life-sized sculpture in the round. In an impressive manner, the British artist Gavin Turk combines the well-known picture by Jacques-Louis David from 1793 with his own self-portrait. Whereas David was concerned with presenting Marat as a martyr and exalting revolutionary virtues and ideals, with his self-portrait Turk connects the current significance of art with the failure of the ideals of the Enlightenment and of freedom.

Jake and Dinos Chapman used the Biblical account of the building of the Tower of Babel as a parable for the disintegration of all shared cultural values. Damien Hirst contributed a monumental church window to the exhibition. John Isaacs presented a 1:1 adaptation and reformulation of the famous Pietà by Michelangelo made of Carrara marble.

Exhibiting Artists: Hilary Berseth, Louise Bourgeois, Berlinde de Bruyckere, Patrick van Caeckenbergh, Jake & Dinos Chapman, George Condo, Anton Corbijn, Thierry de Cordier, Danny Devos, Tracey Emin, Tom Friedman, Line Gulsett, Damien Hirst, Roni Horn, Thomas Houseago, John Isaacs, Sergej Jensen, Nadav Kander, Anne-Mie van Kerckhoven, Anselm Kiefer, Esther Kläs, Wolfe von Lenkiewicz, Alastair Mackie, Christian Marclay, Kate MccGwire, Richard Prince, Leopold Rabus, Daniel Richter, Terry Rodgers, Sterling Ruby, Richard Serra, Andres Serrano, Stephen Shanabrook, Mircea Suciu, Gavin Turk, Jonathan Wateridge.