The Serpentine Galleries presented a talk dedicated to the Fischli/Weiss installation in Kensington Gardens, Rock on Top of Another Rock.
This event, programmed in consultation with Peter Fischli, explored the fascinating history of stones and rocks in art. Precariousness, stability and a sense of the absurd, evoked by Fishli/Weiss’s monumental sculpture at the Serpentine Gallery, were discussed, offering a unique insight into the project and the artists’ wider practice.
Since the late 1970s Peter Fischli (b. 1952) and David Weiss (1946-2012) have captivated audiences with their transformations of the common-place and their finely-judged balance of humour and seriousness. Fischli/Weiss’s work crosses a wide range of media, but underpinning all of it is a spirit of discovery that encourages us to take a fresh look at our surroundings. Everyday objects take on an unexpectedly lifelike quality; they balance on each other, play off each other and collide into one another. Fischli/Weiss won the Golden Lion prize at the Venice Biennale in 2003 for Questions, an installation of over 1000 photographic slides of handwritten existential questions the artists had collected over many years.
Adam Caruso and Peter St John established Caruso St John Architects in 1990. Projects by the practice include New Art Gallery Walsall, Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood, Brick House, London and Gagosian Galleries in London, Rome, Paris and Hong Kong. Recently completed projects include Nottingham Contemporary and the new Café at Chiswick Gardens. The practice have been architects for Tate Britain since 2007. Caruso is Professor of Architecture and Construction at the ETH Zurich.
With support from The Royal Norwegian Embassy, London
