Author Description

Children, art lovers, philosophers and comedians have all found delight in the work of Swiss artist Roman Signer (born 1938), the Buster Keaton of contemporary art. Using constituents such as water, fire, air and earth, Signer makes a playground of the whole world, devising absurdist experiments in all kinds of environments, from desolate landscapes to biennals. This excellent retrospective from DuMont assesses the artist's career across several decades, thematizing the work through its use of balloons, attache cases, kayaks, sound and paint. Each of these sections is embellished with a discussion between the artist and author Rachel Withers, who also analyses Signer's time sculptures through the writings of Henri Bergson and Gaston Bachelard, and explores the singular humor of his work.