Forms of Classification

Since the 1960s, contemporary artists have critically engaged with the construction of knowledge. They have explored significant themes such as authorized histories, stereotypes, memory, the human condition, gender issues, established forms of representation, technology, the everyday, language, and cultural institutions. The artists featured in Forms of Classification address many of these topics in diverse ways, challenging scientific logic and methodology while offering unconventional, unpredictable perspectives on "knowledge." The selected artworks provide opportunities to suspend, expand, and question our understanding of accepted knowledge, proposing alternative ways of thinking about ourselves, our world, culture, and history. This exploration of unconventional perspectives is sure to inspire and enlighten the audience, encouraging them to reconsider their own understanding of knowledge and art.

The term "classification" has become deeply intertwined with discussions of memory and the archive in contemporary art. Concepts like artist-as-archivist, archival art, and archival discursivity are now standard. The artists in this exhibition primarily focus on discussing, addressing, and deconstructing the present. When employing classificatory strategies related to the archive or ethnographic practices—as seen in the works of Mark Dion, Mathilde ter Heijne, Susan Hiller, and Monika Weiss—they subvert and deconstruct classification itself, transforming it from a tool of control, exclusion, and authority into one of inclusion, expansion, and disruption.

Despite the diversity of issues and forms, several shared strategies, modes of address, and themes can be discerned among the selected artists. Irony and humor serve as central subversive elements in the works of Francis Alÿs, Jimmie Durham, Ellen Gallagher, Allan McCollum, Julian Rosefeldt, and Nedko Solakov as they critique cultural values, the function of art, stereotypes, and human dilemmas. Mark Dion, Susan Hiller, Mathilde ter Heijne, and Monika Weiss investigate how history and its narratives are constructed, highlighting elements that official histories have marginalized. Bernd and Hilla Becher, and Damian Ortega focus on indexical operations that disrupt established notions of hierarchy and beauty. Jack Leirner and Chen Shaoxiong subtly expose contradictions in everyday elements of existence. Finally, Joseph Grigely and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer examine the structure of language and the possibilities and limitations of communication.