Introduction

It’s snowing, the sun is setting, a storm is brewing – the expansive installation by Ugo Rondinone (*1964) invites viewers to become immersed both in his art and in the elements. The focus of this artist’s work is on the overwhelming beauty of the landscape and the force of nature. Rondinone grew up in Brunnen on the Vierwaldstättersee. In the course of his inter-national career he has since moved and made New York his main place of residence. Ugo Rondinone is now returning to his home country to present an extensive retrospective exhibition called Cry Me a River.

The exhibition title Cry Me a River quotes a song that has been interpreted by numerous singers, from Ella Fitzgerald to Justin Timberlake. In Ugo Rondinone’s case, the “river” refers concretely to the river Reuss, which flows into the Vierwaldstättersee in front of the Kunstmuseum Luzern. There are parallels in the exhibition between the works of art and the immediate surroundings. The artist stages his place of origin lovingly and with a lot of cheerfulness. His love of materials also links into the legendary “Innerschweizer Innerlichkeit” (inner Swiss inwardness), for which the traditional materials of bronze, ceramics or stone were of particular importance. Ugo Rondinone’s stone figures continue the tradition of helpful signposts in the mountains. But unlike those to be found when out hiking, his stone figures are larger than life, standing firmly in space and appearing to rise up beyond the viewers. The reverse size ratios are both intriguing and sur-prising, enabling us to view the figures differently. This playing with dimensions is a recurrent element in the artist’s oeuvre. The work primal, for example, consists of 59 miniature bronze horses. On closer inspection, we can make out the artist’s finger marks. Ugo Rondinone’s sculp-tures are a consistent and clearly recognisable strand in his overall oeuvre. The horses resemble prehistorical objects; excavated by archaeologists, they might even be considered to be lucky charms for hunters.

Horses, fish, birds, rainbows, sun and lightning flashes are all familiar to us – Ugo Rondinone’s motifs are simple, immediate and accessible, and therein lies the strength of his works. With thank you silence he introduces the beauty of slowly fluttering snow into the museum space, thus awakening childhood memories: astonishment at the white splendour, delight in snowball fights, the angel outline in the white powdery snow. The artist throws up a bridge between work and viewers by using familiar motifs, traditional materials and techniques, as well as bright colours.

Ugo Rondinone is considered to be one of Switzerland’s most important contemporary artists. He has received numerous art prizes and in 2007 he represented Switzerland at the 52nd Venice Biennale. Cry Me a River brings together extensive and multifaceted works of the past 30 years. The artist also painted two new works for the exhibition which capture the view of the Vierwald-stättersee by day and by night. Important references for these paintings are Félix Vallotton und Ferdinand Hodler. On the occasion of the exhibition, the 16-part edition luzern landscape will be issued along with the book Ugo Rondinone. Cry Me a River, published in cooperation with the Hatje Cantz.