Nadia Kaabi-Linke b. 1978
Altarpiece, 2015
Silk paper, Wax, Chinese Ink (Encre de Chine), Acrylic (Lascaux), Varnish (Lascaux satin), Wood frame coated in 24 K gold leaf
250 x 450.4 x 6.3 cm
98 3/8 x 177 3/8 x 2 1/2 in
98 3/8 x 177 3/8 x 2 1/2 in
Copyright The Artist
'Altarpiece' (2015), a monumental gilded triptych holds prints Kaabi-Linke has taken from the exterior of a bullet-holed WWII-bunker in central Berlin. The building has throughout its existence served several contradictory...
'Altarpiece' (2015), a monumental gilded triptych holds prints Kaabi-Linke has taken from the exterior of a bullet-holed WWII-bunker in central Berlin. The building has throughout its existence served several contradictory purposes, ranging from the German Reich Railway, a fruits storage (“Banana Bunker”) to a venue for hedonistic techno parties. The work functions as a metaphor for the eternal conservation of historical traces of painful memories. Open, the scars of forgotten conflicts and uncomfortable histories are revealed, recalling the Messiah’s stigmata. When closed 'Altarpiece' appears as a perfect golden square alluding to cultural and political strategies used to deny the past.
Provenance
Burger Collection, Hong KongExhibitions
Clapping With Stones: Arts and Acts of
Resistance, curated by Sara Raza. Rubin Museum of Art, New York (2019)
FAHRENHEIT311: Seven Legends of Machismo, Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai, UAE (2015)
Walk the Line, Dallas Contemporary, USA (2015)
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