Hanging Wall

1968

Brick wall, 1 table, 2 chairs

Brick wall: 95 x 75 x 5 cm (37 3/8 x 29 1/2 x 1 15/16 in.) Chairs: 90 x 55 x 50 cm (35 7/16 x 21 5/8 x 19 11/16 in.) (each) Table: 80 x 133 x 68 cm (31 1/2 x 52 3/8 x 26 3/4 in.)

A table, two chairs, two cups and an ashtray ordinarily suggest the possibility of dialogue. This possibility is brutally cancelled out by the presence of a suspended piece of brick wall. Preventing any visual contact between the two potential guests, Ger van Elk creates a “realistic depiction of unrealistic situations.”

A major figure in Dutch conceptual art, Ger van Elk is the creator of a number of striking and poetic sculptures and installations. Both an allegory for incommunicability and an invitation to performance (is it easy to talk without seeing the person you’re talking to?), Hanging Wall is an iconic work by the Dutch artist.

The installation Hanging Wall (1968) was shown by the Pinault Collection at the "Le Monde vous appartient" (“The World Belongs to You”) exhibition (2011-2012) at the Palazzo Grassi.
Exhibitions