Esther Eppstein on the exhibition at Helmhaus Zurich
“The artists Franziska Koch and Saskja Rosset, as well as Davix and Alexis Saile, have been present and artistically active at message salon since its inception. Over the years, I have come to know and appreciate their personalities, their working methods and their views on art and space. As a friend and someone familiar with their artistic positions and willingness to experiment, I invited these four very different artists to collaborate on an exhibition in all the rooms on the second floor of the Helmhaus.
Davix, Franziska Koch, Saskja Rosset, and Alexis Saile jointly conceived and pre-produced the exhibition in a studio specially rented for this purpose on Räffelstrasse in Zurich. This gave rise to cross-fertilisation, interconnections and friction. The individual positions in the media of painting, video, audio, drawing, photography, and objects are intended to become permeable, allowing visitors to experience the exhibition as a holistic installation. Most of the works were created specifically for this exhibition and were only completed on site during the set-up phase in the exhibition space. The content and theme of the experimental exhibition are the message salon as a breeding ground, network and driving force for art and friendships, as well as the collaboration between the artists, the artistic process and the convergence, connection and differentiation of their respective positions.”
As part of the exhibition, Franziska Koch will present a sound performance with musicians Stini Arn and Monika Schori on 10 March in the entrance hall in front of the Helmhaus Zurich.
“Lokale Aufhellungen” (Local Brightening), from the press release by Simon Maurer and Eva Wagner, directors of Helmhaus Zurich:
“Off spaces, alternative spaces, or whatever you want to call the independent, non-commercial art spaces often organised by artists (collectives), have developed a tradition in Zurich’s art scene since the late 1980s. Close to predominantly young art production, they have always had their finger on the pulse of the times. What first appears in these free spaces, where artistic experimentation still has room to breathe, is often subsequently skimmed off by the institutionalised and commercial art scene. In this respect, off spaces play a pioneering role, which they fulfil with great idealism despite financial constraints. Our own appreciation of off spaces and the attention they receive have prompted us to provide a forum for two pioneering figures of the Zurich off-space scene at the Helmhaus Zurich.
This exhibition is therefore also a recognition and tribute to the work that has been done over the past twenty years to develop artistic potential in Zurich’s impressive off-space scene. We therefore decided to ask Esther Eppstein and Martin Senn to draw on their previous work to develop a concept for an exhibition on one floor each of the Helmhaus. Esther Eppstein and Martin Senn accepted the offer. We are delighted that the two concepts turned out to be so different.
The title of the exhibition, ‘Lokale Aufhellungen’ (Local Brightening), is an image of a temporary, stationary cultural revitalisation of neighbourhoods that were not previously inundated with culture. And thus also an image of the social merits of off-spaces.”