Birgit Jürgenssen
in ‘The Traumatic Surreal’, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
22 November 2024 – 16 March 2025
Birgit Jürgenssen’s work is included in ‘The Traumatic Surreal’, a group exhibition The Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, opening 22 November 2024 and continuing until 16 March 2025. The exhibition is co-curated with Patricia Allmer, Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art History at the University of Edinburgh.
The exhibition is co-curated with Patricia Allmer, Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art History at the University of Edinburgh, and features work by artists including Meret Oppenheim, Renate Bertlmann and Ursula Schultze-Bluhm. Marking the centenary of Surrealism, the show explores the radical appropriation and development of surrealist sculptural traditions by post-war women artists from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg.
In these specific national contexts, the radical appropriation and development of surrealist sculptural traditions becomes a powerful critical tool for women to confront the historical trauma suffered under the long shadow of fascism. Using unconventional materials, creating layers of meaning that evoke the repressed and the unconscious and embracing the capacity to shock or challenge, these artists show the continuing relevance of Surrealism’s disruptive legacies.