Martin Gostner
*Innsbruck, 1957
lives and works in
Düsseldorf and Innsbruck
since 2004 professorship for sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts Düsseldorf

Ennui_Retter spiele Retter, 2016
stage design for Ennui, FRANUI with Peter Simonischek
Ballon, Fat Lake, Fire Place, Full Tilt, Morchel, Schnee, Schraube, Wurst, Zwiebel
cotton, plexiglas

Sem And Ham Dormant, 2017
10 parts
wood,varnish, metal, plastic
130 cm hight

Selected Exhibitions:
Neue Galerie Joanneum Graz, Austria, 2001; Secession Wien, Austria, 2001; Taxipalais
Kunsthalle Tirol, Austria, 2002; Museum Folkwang Essen, Germany, 2003; 
Ar/ge Kunst Galerie Museum Bozen, Italy, 2005; Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin, Germany, 2012; Felicitas Foundation, Big Sur CA, 2015; Mozartwoche Salzburg und Kölner Philharmonie, 2017

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Here Martin Gostner (Innsbruck, 1957) presents a nine-part series of works of cotton wool in Plexiglas cubes entitled ‘Ennui - Retter, spiele, Retter’ (2016) and a work specially created for the exhibition entitled ‘Sem And Ham Dormant’ (2017). ‘Ennui’ alludes to the phenomenon of listlessness and tedium widespread in Western society, which apparently can only be countered by the frenetic search for entertainment and distraction. This swinging to and fro between depression and diversion is typical of a young generation whose exaggerated expectations of life often have no real foundation any more. ‘Sem And Ham Dormant’ alludes, on the other hand, to the biblical story of Noah's two sons as the founding fathers of the Semites and the Hamites, and the ideological continuation of their ‘private war’ in ethnic conflicts down to the present day.