Exhibition: public space redefined
The Department for Public Appearances (Peter Boerboom, Gabriele Obermaier, Carola Vogt and Silke Witzsch†) has been designing and realizing art projects and interventions in public spaces since 1995. In the participatory projects, the Department creates temporary, social sculptures in urban space. The phenomena of public urban life and various forms of today’s communication were the vantage point for the group’s work and projects. In recent years, the topic of “personal opinion as a public phenomenon” has been the focus of participatory projects of the Department for Public Appearances. The Munich Town Hall Gallery (“Rathausgalerie”) presented a comprehensive monographic show in May and June, 2018.
For the exhibition, materials from previous projects were reshaped and redefined for the premises of the Rathausgalerie. The Rathausgalerie, situated in the former service hall of the neo-gothic Munich Town Hall, has been transformed into an exhibition venue in 1979. The 650 square meter, five-aisled portico, surmounted by an 8 meter high glass dome, is a characterful place for contemporary art.
I visited the opening night of the exhibition on May 18th, 2018 – here are my impressions: