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Europa ‒ Where it has been & Where it is at

by Felix

What image represents Europe? Is it the fall of the Berlin Wall, universal human rights, the European Football Championships and the Eurovision Song Contest? Not since Antiquity has a single image stood for Europe. Europeans are bound together by more than just territory: they share a complex past and, following the horrors of the Second World War, a resolve to shape a future founded on solidarity and peace. 'Europa - The Future of History’ (from 12 June to 6 September 2015) at the Kunsthaus Zürich is an exhibition on Europe in art. More than 100 paintings, drawings, photographs, videos and installations by over 60 mainly modern or contemporary artists encounter literary and political statements by well-known figures in an exploration of Europe. Here at this show, themes such as the paths of democratic development, war and peace, home – wanderlust – homesickness and the culture of memory, amnesia and nostalgia are investigated with the backdrop of Europe’s current eventful history and present.

Meret Oppenheim, Large Cloudy Sky over Continents, 1964 Oil on raw canvas, vinyl varnish, 110 x 210 cm. Pictet Collection, photo: Thomas Hensinger © 2015 ProLitteris, Zurich

Anna Jermolaewa, Kremlin Doppelgaenger (Kremlin Double), 2009 HD video, colour, sound, 21 min., looped. Courtesy of the artist and Kerstin Engholm Galerie, Vienna © 2015 ProLitteris, Zurich

Arnold Böcklin, Freedom, 1891 Tempera and oil on spruce wood, 96 x 96 cm. Kunsthaus Zürich, on long-term loan from the Nationalgalerie, Berlin

Alighiero Boetti, Mappa, 1983 Wool on cotton, 116 x 178 cm. Migros Museum of Contemporary Art collection, photo: Peter Schälchli, Zurich © 2015 ProLitteris, Zurich

Félix Vallotton, The Rape of Europa, 1908 Oil on canvas, 130 x 162 cm. Kunstmuseum Bern, gift of Prof. Hans R. Hahnloser, Bern

Max Ernst, Europe After the Rain I, 1933 Oil paint, tempera on plywood, wood, plaster, fabric, 107 x 149 x 7 cm. Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe © 2015 ProLitteris, Zurich

Uriel Orlow, Stefan Zweig, 2009 From the series ‘Oddly, one lived the war in one’s mind more intensively than at home in a country at war’ Marker pen on tinted watercolour paper, 50 parts: 38 x 28 cm. Art collection of the City of Zurich © Uriel Orlow

Herbert Brandl, Untitled, 2013 From the ‘Schwarze Sulm’ (‘Black Sulm’) series Oil on canvas, varnish, 218 x 170 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie nächst St. Stephan Rosemarie Schwarzwälder, Vienna © Herbert Brandl

Ilya Kabakov, This is the Sky, This is a Lake, This is the Sea ..., 1970 Oil and enamel paint on masonite, 125 x 197 cm. Private collection © 2015 ProLitteris, Zurich

Agnès Geoffray, Libération I-II, 2011 From the ‘Incidental Gestures’ series Inkjet print on museum paper, diptych, 23.6 x 35 cm. FRAC Auvergne collection © Agnès Geoffray

Martin Kippenberger, Put Your Freedom in the Corner, Save it For a Rainy Day, 1990 Wood, ceramic and printing colour on paper. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie, 2008, gift of the Friedrich Christian Flick Collection © Estate of Martin Kippenberger, Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne

Osman Bozkurt, Marks of Democracy / Portraits of the Voters, 2002 C-print, 10 works: each 40 x 60 cm Deutsche Bank collection, photo: Martin Url, Frankfurt © Osman Bozkurt

Fabrice Gygi, Dérouleur de tapis rouge, 1999 Varnished steel, blue light, carpet, rubber wheels, dimensions variable Migros Museum of Contemporary Art collection, photo: Stefan Altenburger Photography, Zurich © Fabrice Gygi

Herlinde Koelbl, London: Vincent and Victoria Poklewski, 2000 From the series ‘Bedrooms: London, Berlin, Moscow, Rome, New York, Paris’, 1994-2002 Colour photograph. Courtesy of the artist © Herlinde Koelbl

Kader Attia, Demo(n)cracy, 2010 Neon, 49 x 480 x 3 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna © 2015 ProLitteris, Zurich