Ingeborg Lüscher

Since the start of her artistic practice in the late 1960s, Ingeborg Lüscher’s work has been revolving around everyday objects, experiences and impressions from her immediate environment. Besides objects and installations, this has also yielded photography, paintings, texts and – since the 1990s – video art. The artist frequently produces serial work. Although her oeuvre is rooted in conceptual art, she has also satirized the underlying governing principles of strictness and order.

1418639511 ingeborg luescher 300 million years exhibition view 2

Ingeborg Lüscher, 300 Million Years, 2014; exhibition view Campagne Première, Berlin

Ingeborg Luescher 300 Million Years 1

Ingeborg Lüscher, 300 Million Years I, 2014, Inkjet Latex 180 x 121 cm

Ingeborg Luescher 300 Million Years 9 1

Ingeborg Lüscher, 300 Million Years IX, 2014, Inkjet Latex 180 x 121 cm

Ingeborg Luescher the other side

Image 1/2 Description

Ingeborg Lüscher, The Other Side, 2011, 3-channel video installation, HD 30'20'', installation view ZKM Karlsruhe, 2011

For The Other Side, Ingeborg Lüscher went into cities, villages and refugee camps and confronted fifteen Palestinians and fourteen Israelis, who had lost relatives in the conflict, with a set of questions, while filming them as they considered their responses:


THINK
OF WHO YOU ARE,
YOUR NAME,
YOUR HERITAGE

THINK
OF WHAT THE OTHER SIDE
HAS DONE TO YOU

THINK,
CAN YOU
FORGIVE THAT

In a series of moving, silent, black-and-white images, Ingeborg Lüscher presents us with the faces of her interviewees. The work deliberately removes itself from the historical and political backdrop and allows the viewer to pause and reflect on the very private nature of death.

"The act of contemplation is silent and eminently eloquent. Now and then you get flickers of quiet gestures, a twitch of the mouth, a nod, which indicate how much speech is hidden in speechlessness. It is these faces, the rhythmic appearance and disappearance of expression that tell the story." (Hans-Joachim Müller)

Exhibitions:
ZKM Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, 2011
Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, 2012-13
Situation Kunst (for Max Imdahl) Ruhr University, Bochum, 2013

Ingeborg Luescher the other side1

Image 2/2

Ingeborg Lüscher, The Other Side, 2011, 3-channel video installation, HD 30'20''

Ingeborg Luescher website 1

Image 1/3 Description

Ingeborg Lüscher, La Pupa Proibita, 2006, video with sound, 3'29''

Lüscher displays a playful engagement with the metaphysical in the video piece La Pupa Proibita. “La Pupa”, a tremendous female figure from Abbruzzo folklore, becomes the embodiment of what is desired from life.

Ingeborg Luescher Pupa Proibita 2

Image 2/3

Ingeborg Lüscher, La Pupa Proibita, 2006, video with sound, 3'29''

Ingeborg Luescher Pupa Proibita 3

Image 3/3

Ingeborg Lüscher, La Pupa Proibita, 2006, video with sound, 3'29''

Ingeborg Luescher Frozen River 1

Image 1/2 Description

Ingeborg Lüscher, Frozen River - Who killed Jerusalem, 2006, video, sound, 3 min 20, Edition 5 + 2 AP

In 2014, Campagne Première presented Ingeborg Lüscher's most recent photographs 300 Million Years alongside the 2006 video work Frozen River - who killed Jerusalem. The video, with its insurgent soundtrack of the great outdoors, also reveals how an inconspicuous recording of Nature can be charged with meaning.

Ingeborg Luescher Frozen River 2

Image 2/2

Ingeborg Lüscher, Frozen River - Who killed Jerusalem, 2006, video, sound, 3 min 20, Edition 5 + 2 AP

Ingeborg Luescher Amber Room 1

Image 1/2 Description

Ingeborg Lüscher, Amber Room (Bernsteinzimmer), 2001-03, 9000 pieces of soap, external dimensions 400 x 560 x 560 cm

Amber Room (Bernsteinzimmer)
2001-03
9000 pieces of soap; aluminium rails, neon tubes, painted foor, overall construction covered by fiberboard; upper parts of plexi glass painted with resin, ceiling covered with transparent cloth
internal dimensions 360 x 400 x 400 cm
external dimensions 400 x 560 x 560 cm

Publication:
Ingeborg Lüscher, Das Bernsteinzimmer, 2004, published on the occasion of the exhibition "Verzauberung auf Zeit" ("Temporary Enchantment"), Swarovski Crystal Worlds, Wattens, Austria, March 2004 until January 2006.

Further exhibitions:
Kunstmuseum Wiesbaden, Germany
Kunstraum Kraft, Basel, Switzerland
Ingeborg Luescher Amber Room 2

Image 2/2

Ingeborg Lüscher, Amber Room (Bernsteinzimmer), 2001-03, (detail) 

Ingeborg Luescher fei ya3

Image 1/3 Description

Ingeborg Lüscher (Ying-bo), Fei-ya! Fei-ya!, 1999, video, 8'00''

An evening in a Beijing bar - a bunch of artists, painters and dancers are playing a game similar to the European "stone-scissors-paper". But the Chinese version is more complex. Depending on the result (equal, won or lost) the players accompany their gestures with symbolic kisses or slaps to their opponents faces with dazzling speed. The turmoil is increasing until it explodes in roaring ecstatic laughter to again loose intensity and sag. Then a new couple restarts the game.

Ingeborg Luescher fei ya4

Image 2/3

Ingeborg Lüscher (Ying-bo), Fei-ya! Fei-ya!, 1999, video, 8'00''
Ingeborg Luescher fei ya5

Image 3/3

Ingeborg Lüscher (Ying-bo), Fei-ya! Fei-ya!, 1999, video, 8'00'', exhibition view Campagne Première 2011
Luescher himmel erde 1

Image 1/2

Ingeborg Lüscher, Himmel & Erde (Heaven & Earth), Without title (X), 1998, c-print

Luescher himmel erde 2

Image 2/2

Ingeborg Lüscher, Himmel & Erde (Heaven & Earth), Without title (XII), 1998, c-print

Ingeborg Luescher Magician Photos Ai Weiwei 72dpi auto color

Image 1/4

Ingeborg Lüscher, Magician Photos (Ai Weiwei), 1997, since 1976, to be continued, 9 b/w photographs, each 14 x 18 cm, framed 80 x 95 cm

Ingeborg Luescher Magician Photos Juan Munoz

Image 2/4

Ingeborg Lüscher, Magician Photos (Juan Muñoz), 1997, since 1976, to be continued, 9 b/w photographs, each 14 x 18 cm, framed 80 x 95 cm

Ingeborg Luescher Magician Photos Michelangelo Pistoletto 72dpi

Image 3/4

Ingeborg Lüscher, Magician Photos (Michelangelo Pistoletto), 1981, since 1976, to be continued, 9 black & white photographs, each 14 x 18 cm, framed 80 x 95 cm

Ingeborg Luescher Magician Photos Lucio Amelio

Image 4/4

Ingeborg Lüscher, Magician Photos (Lucio Amelio), 1980, since 1976, to be continued, 9 black & white photographs, each 14 x 18 cm, framed 80 x 95 cm

Luescher augen Chiara

Image 1/10

Ingeborg Lüscher, Augen (Chiara), 1998, c-print

Luescher augen Cintia

Image 2/10

Ingeborg Lüscher, Augen (Cintia), 1998, c-print

Luescher augen Claudia open

Image 3/10

Ingeborg Lüscher, Augen (Claudia), 1998, c-print

Luescher augen Claudia

Image 4/10

Ingeborg Lüscher, Augen (Claudia II), 1998, c-print

Luescher augen Leonardo

Image 5/10

Ingeborg Lüscher, Augen (Leonardo), 1998, c-print

Luescher augen Mana Kasomgju

Image 6/10

Ingeborg Lüscher, Augen (Mana Kasomgju), 1998, c-print

Luescher augen Pi

Image 7/10

Ingeborg Lüscher, Augen (Pi), 1998, c-print

Luescher augen Sonia

Image 8/10

Ingeborg Lüscher, Augen (Sonia), 1998, c-print

Luescher augen Una

Image 9/10

Ingeborg Lüscher, Augen (Una I), 1998, c-print

Luescher augen Una 2

Image 10/10

Ingeborg Lüscher, Augen (Una II), 1998, c-print

Luescher bananenblueten und papaya 1

Image 1/2

Ingeborg Lüscher, Banana Flower and Papaya I, 1995, c-print

Luescher bananenblueten und papaya 2

Image 2/2

Ingeborg Lüscher, Banana Flower and Papaya II, 1995, c-print

Ingeborg Luescher Re~ 1

Image 1/3 Description

Ingeborg Lüscher, Re~, 1979/80, 12 black & white photographs, mounted on aluminium and wood, each 28 x 37 cm

The work "Re-" followed Lüscher’s attempts to find out about past lives under hypnosis. The artist subsequently took photos of her own reflection in the mirror on twelve occasions, wearing alternating –and improvised– pieces of headgear.
Ingeborg Luescher Re~ 2

Image 2/3

Ingeborg Lüscher, Re~ (detail), 1979/80, 12 black & white photographs, mounted on aluminium and wood, each 28 x 37 cm

Ingeborg Luescher Re detail2

Image 3/3

Ingeborg Lüscher, Re~ (detail), 1979/80, 12 black & white  photographs, mounted on aluminium and wood, each 28 x 37 cm

Ingeborg Luescher How I Begin to See the World 1

Image 1/4 Description

Ingeborg Lüscher, How I Begin to See the World..., 1975-1979, 28 black & white photographs on painted cardboard, framed, overall dimensions 285 x 430 cm

Ingeborg Lüscher, Wie ich beginne, die Welt zu erleben, oder: Ich kenne den Sinn und die Worte, nur die Dinge sind über mir (How I Begin to See the World, or: I Know the Meaning and the Words, Only the Things Are Above Me)

1975-1979

28 b/w photographs on painted cardboard, framed
each 29.5 x 37.5 cm, overall dimensions 285 x 430 cm

exhibition view "Transformations - Ingeborg Lüscher, Ana Mendieta, Teresa Murak", Campagne Première Berlin, 2014


The photoseries "How I Begin to See the World, or: I Know the Meaning and the Words, Only the Things Are Above Me" is arranged as a pyramid and shows the way a child perceives its environment. The proportions suggest how the child is unable to grasp the size and scope of the world around them.

The work has been first shown at the 39. Biennale in Venice 1980 and is reproduced in the catalogue of the Biennale on p. 57.

Further exhibitions:
Kunstmuseum Solothurn (1982)
Kunsthaus Zürich (1991)
Museo Nacional Reina Sofía Madrid (1992)
Kunsthalle Düsseldorf (1992)
Museum Wiesbaden (1993)
Kunsthaus Aarau (1996)

Museo di arte moderna MaRT, Rovereto (2004)

Ingeborg Luescher How I Begin to See the World 3

Image 2/4

Ingeborg Lüscher, How I Begin to See the World... (detail), 1975-1979

Ingeborg Luescher How I Begin to See the World 2

Image 3/4

Ingeborg Lüscher, How I Begin to See the World... (detail), 1975-1979

Ingeborg Luescher How I Begin detail1

Image 4/4

Ingeborg Lüscher, How I Begin to See the World... (detail), 1975-1979

Ingeborg Lüscher Website 4

Image 1/2 Description

Ingeborg Lüscher, Das Herz auf dem Weg zur Werdung (Heart on the way to Becoming), 1975, 22 showcases and one textbook, exhibition view Kunstmuseum Luzern 2010

Ingeborg Lüscher, Das Herz auf dem Weg zur Werdung (Heart on the Way to Becoming), 1975, 22 showcases and one textbook in 25 chapters

Mahogany, glass, stones, sand, velours, paper, cardboard, metal
12 showcases 10 x 71.5 x 53.5 cm
5 showcases 10 x 58 x 43.5 cm
4 showcases 10 x 44.5 x 43 cm
1 showcase 10 x 17.5 x 14 cm
overall dimensions 120 x 700 x 200 cm
Ingeborg Luescher Das Herz2

Image 2/2

Ingeborg Lüscher, Das Herz auf dem Weg zur Werdung, 1975, 22 showcases and one textbook exhibition view Kunstmuseum Luzern 2010

Ingeborg Luescher Luccello piu grande non sa valore 1

Image 1/3

Ingeborg Lüscher, Dokumentation über A.S. I (Documentation on A.S. I), 1972, b&w photograph

Ingeborg Luescher Luccello piu grande non sa valore 2

Image 2/3

Ingeborg Lüscher, Dokumentation über A.S. II (Documentation on A.S. II), 1972, b&w photograph

Ingeborg Luescher Luccello piu grande non sa valore 3

Image 3/3

Ingeborg Lüscher, Dokumentation über A.S. III (Documentation on A.S. III), 1972, b&w photograph

Ingeborg Luescher das Persische Tagebuch 1

Image 1/2

Ingeborg Lüscher, Das Persische Tagebuch 71/73 I (The Persian Diary 71/73 I), 1971, b&w photograph

Ingeborg Luescher das Persische Tagebuch 2

Image 2/2

Ingeborg Lüscher, Das Persische Tagebuch 71/73 II (The Persian Diary 71/73 II), 1971, b&w photograph