Since the 1970s, the Austrian artist Lois Weinberger (born 1947) has been developing his own political and poetic concept of nature. His work represents a significant position in contemporary art, contributing to the current artistic discourse on our relationship to nature. The diversity of Weinberger’s artistic approach reflects his complex concept of nature, which stays clear of romanticizing of any kind.
Weinberger was made famous by his contribution to documenta X (1997). On disused railway tracks at the Kassel Main Station, he planted ruderal vegetation from European countries usually considered problematical in connection with immigration. Ruderal plants – commonly known as weeds and highly resistant to climatic changes and inhospitable conditions – have become central to the artist’s investigations. Weeds call attention to the peripheral, and their nomadic character fundamentally subverts any attempt at establishing fixed borders. They can be said to represent â€natural guerillasâ€. Since 1999, the artist has collaborated with Franziska Weinberger. The retrospective exhibition at Kunsthallen Brandts Klædefabrik presents works dating from 1988 to 2004, divided into four themes: The Peripheral, Models, Gardens, and Realized and Non-realized Projects in Public Space. It will be displayed in Kunsthallen’s new exhibition hall and will extend into the public space and to Kunsthallen’s new roof terrace in the form of moveable gardens – plastic bags or metal containers on wheels, filled with poor soil, seeds and plants from various waste areas – installed on the terrace and in Kongensgade in Odense.
