Call and Response: George Steinmann in Dialogue
It is a pleasure and honour for the Kunstmuseum Thun to present artist George Steinmann, who grew up in Thun, in a solo exhibition. Steinmann enjoys an excellent reputation both nationally and internationally. He is also one of the most important builders of bridges between art and research in Switzerland. In 2011 the University of Bern awarded him with a honorary doctorate for his profound and sustained involvement with the role of art as a driving force for a sustainable society. Steinmann’s work is mostly created processually. That is in the nature of things, as these projects are always very time-consuming with the inclusion of artists and scientists from the transdisciplinary field. The meticulously prepared projects focus on people from different cultures and varied demographic and occupational groups. Starting from the premises of the Kunstmuseum Thun, Steinmann creates spatial installations between major works of earlier creative phases and recent works in a dialogue with past and present companions such as Mike Henderson, Shaarbek Amankul, Jost Kutter, Prof. Dr. Konrad Ott, Prof. Christoph Schenker and Selma Dubach. Both, exhibition and catalogue provide insight into Steinmanns forms of knowledge and his view on the environment, and moreover they analyse in detail the development of his work. Certain groups of works are not yet completed. Other long-term projects will be installed in a new context and are thus anchored in the present. Earlier research results and questions are more virulent than ever in todays art discourse and position Steinmann’s demands and findings for a sustainable and responsible use of our resources in a volatile dialogue.
Helen Hirsch, Director and Curator Kunstmuseum Thun