Various Conditions

by Helmut Lang, Hubert Klocker (Editor)

Helmut Lang's sculptures and objects oscillate between figuration and abstraction. They borrow from some forms of classical sculpture (wall reliefs, freestanding sculptures) and ritual objects (idols), which he deconstructs, abstracts, and transforms during his artistic work process. Essentially, this is achieved via the radical reduction of form and color, through decontextualization—which is based on the variable integration of objects and sculptures into superordinately installative space design and by the use of readily available materials like scrap metal, fabric, or industrial waste. Lang has stated he prefers materials “with a certain history, elements with irreplaceable presence and with scars and memories of a former purpose.” The fabric scraps he molds with resin into sculptures are, for example, the remains of his archive "Séance de travail," which he shredded in an act of creative destruction in order to generate from it something new. Lang's dealings with material allows for contextualizations with Vienna Actionism, in which material collages and structural studies of a wide variety of materials play an essential role according to the equation "matter = color." Everything is material and is treated equally, whether it is mud, scrap, food, blood, or, as a further consequence, the body.

94 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

About the author

Helmut Lang is an Austrian artist who lives and works in New York and on Long Island. Lang established his name-stake trademark in 1978 and presented his first international presentation at Centre Georges Pompidou in 1986, and has since his retirement from fashion in 2005, continued to work as an artist. Lang introduced unconventional materials into the urban uniform and by repositioning the perspectives of utility and modernity defined the silhouette of the 90′s and early 2000′s. He broke away from the runway show-as-spectacle in the height of the 80′s opulence and was the first to ever stream his collection online, redefining how fashion is communicated. As one of the most important designers of our times, his work left an undeniable imprint on contemporary culture and his influence continues to reverberate among the fashion community today.

Lang's seamless relationship with art has has included collaborations with artists Jenny Holzer and Louise Bourgeois. His recent works explore abstract sculptural forms and physical arrangements and space beyond the limitations of the human body. Lang had his first solo art exhibition ALLES GLEICH SCHWER at the Kestnergesellschaft in Hanover in 2008 and was the 2009 curator and artist of the destefashioncollection, initiated by The Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art in Athens. Future exhibitions of Lang’s art will take place at MAK, Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art in Vienna and the Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art in Athens.

Lang has published excerpts from his ongoing art projects Long Island Diarie and The Selective Memory Series in a number of publications, such as BUTT Magazine, Fannzine 137 and Visionaire.