When we think of masks, we think of Carnival, African tribal rituals or death masks, of theatre, film and fashion, but also of role playing, changing identities, veiling and protection. The mask is a cult object with a very long, rich, and controversial history. It also has an extensive tradition in the fine arts: think of classical mod­ernism and its predilection for masks from Africa and Oceania. But how is the subject treated in contemporary art? The international group show MASK. In Present-Day Art explores this question.

The mask is interesting to contemporary artists not just as an object, but in all of its the­matic, social, cultural, and political implications. In the interplay between showing and veiling, and in a society in which adroit self­presentation is seen as a measure of personal success, the mask today is once again a highly explosive issue. We use masks to slip into a role. They offer an opportunity to play with the self. Artists are in­terested less in psychologizing what is behind the mask and more in looking at the masks them­selves: as artistic or ritual objects, as a means of (virtual) self­presentation, a means of political expression or a tool for playing with identities.

This exhibition features a wide variety of media – objects, installations, performances, paintings, photographs, and videos – most of which have been created over the past ten years by art­ists from Switzerland and around the world.

Artists
Kader Attia (*1970, FR), Silvia Bächli (*1956, CH) & Eric Hattan (*1955, CH), Sabian Baumann (*1962, CH), Nathalie Bissig (*1981, CH), Olaf Breuning (*1970, CH), Edson Chagas (*1977, AO), Hélène Delprat (*1957, FR), Cecilia Edefalk (*1954, SE), Nicole Eisenman (*1965, FR), Theaster Gates (*1973, USA), Gauri Gill (*1970, IN), Douglas Gordon (*1966, UK), Aneta Grzeszykowska (*1974, PL), Christoph Hefti (*1967, CH), Judith Hopf (*1969, DE), Cameron Jamie (*1969, USA), Laura Lima (*1971, BR), Christian Marclay (*1955, CH), Mélodie Mousset (*1981, FR/CH), Mike Nelson (*1967, UK), Elodie Pong (*1966, USA/CH), Pope.L (*1955, USA), Ugo Rondinone (*1964, CH), Amanda Ross­ Ho (*1975, USA), Markus Schinwald (*1973, AT), Cindy Sherman (*1954,
USA), Francisco Sierra (*1977, CH), Simon Starling (*1967, UK), John Stezaker (*1949, UK), Rosemarie Trockel (*1952, DE), Paloma Varga Weisz (*1966, DE), Gillian Wearing (*1963, UK), Susanne Weirich (*1962, DE), Pedro Wirz (*1981, BR/CH), Sislej Xhafa (*1970, KO)