Beneath the remains of the 19th century ‘palace’ that the Bavarian society portraitist Franz von Lenbach constructed for himself lies a concrete bunker linking what is now the Lenbachhaus museum to Munich’s metro system. It currently hosts an exhibition of sculpture and film by German pop artist Thomas Bayrle.
The gallery is filled with an array of internal combustion engines isolated from their original vehicles and stripped back to reveal their moving parts. They range in scale from a large radial propeller plane engine to those found in a Vespa scooter.
Gummibaum, by Thomas Bayrle, 1993
Titled ‘Monstranz’, the former takes its name the ornate ecclesiastical vessels used to display sacred artefacts. The noise of engines is accompanied by individual soundtracks that variously incorporate either religion or popular song. ‘Monstranz’ is accompanied by the faint sound of a rosary recital. The Vespa by Maria Callas singing O cieli azzurri from Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida. Elsewhere a high Catholic mass and Edith Piaf can be heard.
The cacophony appears to be conducted by pairs of disembodied windscreen wipers. One, attached to the wall, glides over a glazed Warhol portrait of Mao, accompanied by the Warhol-produced I’ll be your mirror from The Velvet Underground and Nico. Another free-standing set emits Erik Satie’s repetitive Musique d'Ameublement. The 79-year-old Bayrle has described works in this exhibition as being like ‘compressed cathedrals’ (in terms of their engineering) and drawn comparison between the rhythms of prayer and of machines.
‘Rosario’, 2012.
A series of stop motion animations echo the shuddering mechanisms. They explore fusions of the organic and industrial from pedestrianised precincts to cloned sheep. Elsewhere a 30m long grey, wooden relief mounted on the concrete walls pulls everything together. It depicts a stylised autobahn (a recurrent motif in Bayrle’s practice since the late 1970s) and echoes the plant systems of this cultural and transport hub.
The gallery is filled with an array of internal combustion engines (pictured, Big Block, 2012) isolated from their original vehicles...
...and stripped back to reveal their moving parts.
Rosenkranz, 2009
Conductor (Ford Galaxy Wiper), 2011
Scheibenwischer (Dirigent), 2013
Rosaire, 2012
INFORMATION
‘Thomas Bayrle’ is on view until 5 March. For more information, visit the Lenbachhaus website
-
A new Oxford Street pop-up celebrates IKEA's blue bagsIKEA's iconic blue bag gets its own pop-up concept store, the 'Hus of Frakta'.
-
Audemars Piguet and Kaws have created the Royal Oak Concept watch we didn't know we neededThe Audemars Piguet x Kaws Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon 'Companion' is slick wrist-worn art
-
A friendly rivalry coloured by kinship: Wendy Maruyama and Tom Loeser on their two-artist show'I wanted to make furniture, just not traditional furniture, but weird furniture,' says Wendy Maruyama on ‘Colorama’, a two-artist show presented at design gallery Superhouse (until 11 January 2025)
-
Inside Jack Whitten’s contribution to American contemporary artAs Jack Whitten exhibition ‘Speedchaser’ opens at Hauser & Wirth, London, and before a major retrospective at MoMA opens next year, we explore the American artist's impact
-
Frieze Sculpture takes over Regent’s ParkTwenty-two international artists turn the English gardens into a dream-like landscape and remind us of our inextricable connection to the natural world
-
Harlem-born artist Tschabalala Self’s colourful ode to the landscape of her childhoodTschabalala Self’s new show at Finland's Espoo Museum of Modern Art evokes memories of her upbringing, in vibrant multi-dimensional vignettes
-
Wanås Konst sculpture park merges art and nature in SwedenWanås Konst’s latest exhibition, 'The Ocean in the Forest', unites land and sea with watery-inspired art in the park’s woodland setting
-
Pino Pascali’s brief and brilliant life celebrated at Fondazione PradaMilan’s Fondazione Prada honours Italian artist Pino Pascali, dedicating four of its expansive main show spaces to an exhibition of his work
-
John Cage’s ‘now moments’ inspire Lismore Castle Arts’ group showLismore Castle Arts’ ‘Each now, is the time, the space’ takes its title from John Cage, and sees four artists embrace the moment through sculpture and found objects
-
Gerhard Richter unveils new sculpture at Serpentine SouthGerhard Richter revisits themes of pattern and repetition in ‘Strip-Tower’ at London’s Serpentine South
-
Peter Blake’s sculptures spark joy at Waddington Custot in London‘Peter Blake: Sculpture and Other Matters’, at London's Waddington Custot, spans six decades of the artist's career
