◄ Overview
Christoph Büchel
Hanging Shoes
German conceptual artist Christoph Büchel is best known for his claustrophobic, all-encompassing installations, which put the audience in psychologically intense situations echoing those of wartime. His skill at summoning indefinable feelings of panic is present even in this simple work, a pair of his own shoes hanging from a pipe. One might think here of the common urban sight of sneakers heaved over a power line, but there is also an implication of a lynching, or simply being “hung out to dry.” The work is a testament to the fact that even a very reduced image, when seen against the backdrop of the artist’s broader work, can carry great emotional weight.
Tearsheet
Artist
Christoph Büchel
Material
Artist's shoes
Contributing Gallery
Hauser & Wirth
Date
2009/2012
Dimensions
Unique
ID
Image credit: Courtesy of Hauser and Wirth
Hanging Shoes, 2009/2012
Unique
Artist's shoesHauser & Wirth
$0
German conceptual artist Christoph Büchel is best known for his claustrophobic, all-encompassing installations, which put the audience in psychologically intense situations echoing those of wartime. His skill at summoning indefinable feelings of panic is present even in this simple work, a pair of his own shoes hanging from a pipe. One might think here of the common urban sight of sneakers heaved over a power line, but there is also an implication of a lynching, or simply being “hung out to dry.” The work is a testament to the fact that even a very reduced image, when seen against the backdrop of the artist’s broader work, can carry great emotional weight.