Opened on December 6th, 2020, Esther Schipper presents Isa Melsheimer’s third solo exhibition with the gallery. Entitled ‘false ruins and lost innocence,’ the exhibition includes three large-scale ceramics, textile works, and a suite of gouaches. The three large-scale ceramics draw on existing buildings: the artist gives these landmarks an “interior” life that evokes theoretical debates in architectural discourse. One work, for example, juxtaposes Le Corbusier’s Villa Shodhan (Ahmedabad, 1951–56) with a horse’s head from the pediment of the Greek Parthenon, circa 438 BC, thus suggesting an organic element in the “machine for living in” as Le Corbusier famously referred to a house. The works in the exhibition play with the tenuous borders between the built environment and nature. In this video, Isa Melsheimer speaks about her inspiration for the works in ‘false ruins and lost innocence’ as well as her process and preoccupation with the history of architectural styles, from inside the exhibition room at Esther Schipper gallery.
Video by MONA, Produced by Anna Russ, Filmed and Edited by Robin Thomson
