Remembering Landscape

Must contemporary landscapes still encompass the romantic ideal of a natural, agricultural area? The landscapes being made today are often “non‑places,” bearing traces of economic interventions, changing demarcations, and evidence displacement, war, urban sprawl, and mining. Quite often, only a kind of residual nature remains, where a few ruins tell of historical events. Barren landscapes that speak of past violence are degraded to (illustrative) material. At the same time, memories are visibly embodied in architectural monuments from the twentieth century. In this exhibition and in numerous contributions to the extensive book, twenty‑four artists and artist groups bring the theme of landscape to life. Landscapes between fiction, symbolism, and documentation are presented, appealing to our ability to decipher these images and calling upon our imagination and empathy.