Death and the Devil
The Fascination with Horror
14 September 2023 – 21 January 2024
Date
14 September 2023 – 21 January 2024
Location
» KunstpalastAdmission: 13 € / concessions 10 €
Children / young people under 18: free
Members of Friends of the Kunstpalast: free
The exhibition Death and the Devil explores the artistic fascination with the gruesome. The first of its kind, the show illuminates the legacy and continuation of horror’s tropes in fashion, music, film as well as contemporary art. The 120 works on display range from classical painting and sculpture to elaborate installations.
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The presentation begins with a prologue that illustrates how the history of art and culture has been marked by death and macabre images.
This spans from the fantastical demons of the Renaissance admonishing sinful behaviour, to the landscapes of Romanticism steeped in ruin and shadows, to the suspenseful figures lurking in early 20th-century horror films. As part of a “cannibalistic” genre that continually re-enacts its own symbols, characters, and themes, these historical examples serve to contextualize contemporary interpretations of the gruesome and terrifying.
In the main body of the show, the exhibition brings together works from the last two decades. The diverse adaptations of horror’s tropes attest to its importance in fashion, music, film, and art.
Presented are works by artists as diverse as Rei Kawakubo, the Chapman Brothers, Billie Eilish, Lars von Trier, Berlinde de Bruyckere, Mary Sibande, Stefan Vogel and many others. Death metal and the blood-filled sneakers of MSCHF meet contributions from Andres Serrano and Eliza Douglas. With their approaches to generating fear, disgust or discomfort, these works formulate a canonized rule-breaking that transgresses societal barriers, gets under the skin and fires the imagination.
With a total of three stations, the exhibition will be on view in large parts of Germany. The show will start at the Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf (September 2023 – January 2024), continue at the Hessisches Landesmuseum in Darmstadt (1 March 2024 – 2 June 2024) and end at the Museum Georg Schäfer in Schweinfurt (14 July – 20 October 2024).
Curator: Westrey Page, Kunstpalast
The exhibition will be accompanied by an extensive catalogue and a comprehensive program of events that will make the fascination of the subject tangible outside the museum.
The exhibition is suitable for children from 12 years of age.
Exhibition View
Exhibition View “Death and the Devil”, Photo: Anne Orthen
Exhibition View “Death and the Devil”, Photo: Anne Orthen
Exhibition View “Death and the Devil”, Photo: Anne Orthen
Exhibition View “Death and the Devil”, Photo: Anne Orthen
Exhibition View “Death and the Devil”, Photo: Anne Orthen
Exhibition View “Death and the Devil”, Photo: Anne Orthen
Programme
MEY & EDLICH CAPSULE COLLECTION ON THE EXHIBITION
The “Death and the Devil” collection by Mey & Edlich, which was especially created for the exhibition, is characterised by deep dark tones and comprises 13 pieces in total. It is a fusion between the familiar and the novel, giving rise to unprecedented nuances in between. Some of the designs make reference to selected exhibits – such as the hoodie with a print of the white death mask of a 19th-century girl, “Resusci Anne”, which is used today as a model for reanimation dolls. Also, there is a buttoned shirt with two sides. On the back it bears Dürer’s copper engraving dating from the 16th century: Knight, Death and Devil. It is the first time in German-speaking culture that fashion explores the subject of death in some depth.
The collection will soon be offered for purchase on the Mey & Edlich website. A number of pieces are also available on-site in our museum shop during the exhibition period.
Past Events
Performance With Eliza douglas
Thursday, 14.9.2023, 8:30 PM
Ehrenhof
American artist Eliza Douglas will be presenting her first large-scale performance at the Kunstpalast on September 14th. Entitled EVERYTHING DIES, the work draws conceptually upon tropes of the horror and gothic genres as well as dark subcultures. Through minimalist, gestural movements and carefully-staged environments, Douglas examines both the subversive potential and simultaneous commodification of these elements. Having been a long-standing collaborator in Anne Imhof’s durational installations, Douglas’ work for Death and the Devil is conceived and directed by her own hand.
The performance will begin at 8:30 pm and is estimated to finish around 10 pm.
Free entry
MEY & EDLICH PRESENTS LORDI
Kunstpalast Open Air
Saturday, 23 November 2023, 8 pm
On 23 September 2023, Mey & Edlich invites the Finnish hard rock and heavy metal band Lordi on stage outside the Kunstpalast.
With “Hard Rock Hallelujah” the group was the first metal band to win the Eurovision Song Contest – an event that kicked off their international career. Now the band’s monsters, zombies and trolls will deliver a performance for you that will rock the Kunstpalast.
The 666 free tickets have already been snapped up – sorry!
Tickets are available for purchase here.
100 free tickets have been reserved for the Friends of the Kunstpalast.
MEY & EDLICH GHOST TRAIN AT EHRENHOF
This free ride into the unknown will spare your pocket but not your nerves:
From 13 to 17 September 2023, Mey & Edlich will treat you to a ride on the “Death and the Devil” ghost train outside the Kunstpalast, featuring classic eery characters as well as motifs from the exhibition. Get on board and get spooky!
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Image Credits
Image Credits