The year 2025 is of particular significance for the renowned Swiss artist Roman Signer: with the major solo exhibition «Roman Signer: Landscape» at Kunsthaus Zürich, his work will once again become the focus of international art discourse. The theme of landscape, which he addresses in a unique way through performative interventions and poetic sculptures at the Kunsthaus Zürich, is taken up by our presentation «Roman Signer Editions» in the Collector's Room in Zurich and shows editions of some of the works presented in the museum. Häusler Contemporary is pleased to present the diversity and depth of his editions in this viewing room - accompanying our exhibition on site. Like his sculptures and events in the studio or in nature, the editions testify to a playful exploration of physical processes and reflect in a small format the poetic radicalism and joy of experimentation that also characterize his sculptural oeuvre as a whole.

As one of Switzerland's best-known contemporary artists, Roman Signer is known for his unique, often spectacular experiments with time, movement and the elements, often transforming everyday objects into surprising, dynamic works of art. With his ephemeral events, also known as «time sculptures», he has made a significant contribution to the renewal of the concept of sculpture since the 1970s. His work has been recognized in numerous renowned exhibitions, including Skulptur Projekte Münster (1987, 1997) and documenta 8 in Kassel (closing action, 1987). At the Biennale di Venezia in 1999, Signer represented the Swiss Pavilion and presented a poetic and experimental installation on the connection between time, movement and transformation.

«The poetry of the moment» is the title of an article in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung about the work of Roman Signer. His sculptures have an expiration date, as Philipp Meier writes in the feature section of April 4, 2025: they often blow up - and disappear. On the occasion of the opening of the major solo exhibition «Roman Signer: Landscape» at the Kunsthaus Zürich, the artist not only received a page in the arts section, but also designed a special edition of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, which highlighted his ephemeral working method and significance as a sculptor. His so-called «time sculptures» usually materialize as temporary phenomena. Photographs and film recordings therefore play a central role in his oeuvre.

This is impressively demonstrated in a special work that is part of the Kunsthaus Zürich and our presentation in the Collector's Room: a prepared seat hangs centrally in the museum and is attached to the ceiling with long ropes. The fascinating object presents itself to the viewer without any movement. The technology mounted on the back hints at a potential mobility, but this is absent in the exhibition itself - and thus triggers our own impulse to think further.

In our gallery, we are exclusively presenting the photographically captured action in a new edition. In «Versuch mit zwei Turbinen» (2025), Signer's spectacular action from 2023 becomes a visual experience for the viewer: sitting on a chair attached to the Diepoltsau bridge with ropes, the artist uses kerosene and two turbines - each with a thrust of 40 kilograms - to push himself forward. The two-part edition shows two decisive moments of this experiment: the explosive take-off, in which a mighty cloud of smoke visualizes the propulsion, and the swinging forward - an image full of lightness that shows the artist in the midst of his own experimental set-up, carried by strength, balance and a humorous moment.

Roman Signer «Versuch mit zwei Turbinen», 2025 | Colour photography, glass on alu. two parts | 1/10 + 3AP | each 40 x 70 cm | Photo: Kacper Mrozicki

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Roman Signer at the Kunsthaus Zurich | SRF Report 
SRF Tagesschau News from April 5, 2025, duration: 3:00 minutes | On the occasion of the exhibition «Roman Signer - Landscape» | April 4 - August 17, 2025 | Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich (CH)