Private

In the age of “post privacy”, more and more private events are being publicly staged in social networks, talk shows and chat rooms – symptoms of an underlying strain in society where the boundaries separating the private and public sphere are becoming increasingly blurred.
Privacy used to be a precious asset which served to protect one’s inner circle of friends and family. But today, privacy has lost much of its original intimacy. While photography and film opened the door to modern forms of self-exposure, exhibitionism and voyeurism, new media is accelerating the structural shift toward a culture of exposure.
In this exhibition, the Schirn Kunsthalle was seeking a new concept of privacy. It has gathered international works of contemporary art which portray private moments and intimacy, domestic scenes and personal secrets. In contrast to simply focusing on formal aesthetic aspects, the exhibition offered a broad thematic overview which also examined the phenomenon of privacy in terms of its construction and authenticity.

Artistic director: Dr. Martina Weinhart
Artists: Ai Weiwei (CN), Merry Alpern (US), Michel Auder (F), Richard Billingham (GB), Mike Bouchet (US), Stan Brakhage (US), Tracey Emin (GB), Hans-Peter Feldmann, Leo Gabin (BE), Nan Goldin (US), Christian Jankowski, Leigh Ledare (US), Edgar Leciejewski, Christian Marclay (US), Marilyn Minter (US), Marc Marrisroe (US), Laurel Nakadate (US), Peter Piller, Dash Snow (US), Fiona Tan (RI), Mark Wallinger (GB), Andy Warhol (US), Michael Wolf, Kohei Yoshiyuki (J), Akram Zaatari (LB)