| Dates: | born 1938
| | Biography: | 1938 Born in Appenzell, Switzerland.
Lives and works in St Gallen, Switzerland
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1999 Biennale Venedig, Schweizer
Pavillion, Italy
1997 Arbeiten 1982-1997, Neuer
Aachener Kunstverein, Aachen
1990 Transformation, Park der Fondation
Gulbenkian, Lissabon;
Transformations, Musee d'Art Moderne,
Geneve
1987 ""Papierwand,"" finale of
Documenta 8, Kassel
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1998 Unfinished History, Walker Center,
Minneapolis
1994 Heart of Darkness, Kroller-Muller
Museum, Otterlo
1989 Metamorphische Werke von
Schweiz.
Kunstlern, Kunstmuseum, Olten 1987
Documenta 8, Kassel
FURTHER READING
Roman Signer, Schnelle Veranderungen,
Kunstlerhaus, Stuttgart 1985
Roman Signer, Skulptur, Kunstverein St.
Gallen, Munchen 1994
Roman Signer: Works,
Ausstellungskatalog, Moore College of
Art and Design, Philadelphia 1996 | | | Source: | "Trace, 1st Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art", Festival catalogue | | | Date of source: | 1999 |
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| | Description: | Much of Roman Signer's work exists
only as the trace of an action. An object
sinking into water, for example, or the
splash that registers a fall. His
materials - most notably water and sand -
are ordinary, yet in the context of his
performances they take on a life of their
own, flowing and forming patterns in
response to gravity.
At Munster in 1997 he created a
Chaplinesque installation using only a
water hose and a hollow walking stick.
The stick hung from a wire over the lake
and a jet of water was forced through its
stem. The cane whipped about, creating
arcs and spirals, as though wielded by
an energetic phantom in a display of
cinematic burlesque. Then again, it
could simply have been a pragmatic fire
safety demonstration, illustrating the
importance of holding on to the end of
the hose. The simplicity and charm of
this piece is typical of Signer's work.
At Bluecoat Arts Centre, Signer has
made an outdoor installation, while
inside there is a video showing some of
his earlier performances. Just inside the
entrance to the courtyard he has parked
a large black London taxi. With the help
of a narrow pipe fixed to the taxi's roof,
the artist has poured dry sand into the
vehicle, creating a perfect cone
reminiscent of the sand in an hourglass.
With its deadpan humour the work is
both puzzling and hilarious: the bizarre
trace of an inexplicable act.
| | Description Source: | "Trace, 1st Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art", Festival catalogue | | Description Source Date: | 1999 | | Gender: | male | | Type: | person |
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