Christoph Rütimann "Christoph Rütimann"

‘Initially it is difficult to see the diverse work of Christoph Rütimann (Zürich, 1955) as the oeuvre of one and the same artist, but if you are willing to follow his thought processes the correlations will be self-evident. An interest in gravity, a fascination with order and chaos, and the desire to discover patterns in a chaos apparently controlled by chance characterize his work. He uses most diverse media to give form to his ideas: drawings, texts, photographs, microphones and speakers, even pieces of stone and plants can be carrier of meaning. But in all cases there is an internal structure, such as in a palindrome where the letters are identical whether read forwards or backwards, and the text acquires a second meaning. A drawing is realized with the help of a pendulum, which strikes with a certain rhythm. A series of photographs was made by throwing a camera with a self-timer into the air above a field of rapeseed: the 'accidental' results give a coherent image of what the moving camera registered from the air. As if the artist didn't want to take his own artistic judgement as a starting point, he places apparently neutral objects between himself and his work, thus avoiding that the activity becomes the purely personal-artistic form of expression. This consciously created distance links Rütimann’s work with the art of the Seventies, particularly with Conceptual art. What makes his work topical is the fact that it is free of dogmas. The wonder and surprise that can be both the reason for and result of making a work of art are as important as the method used. Imagination is the motor that drives Rütimann, but it can only be mobilized if it is restrained, if it follows the rules of a self-invented and continually changing game.’ (Invitation text by Saskia Bos) Catalogue: Christoph Rütimann, 1991. Text: Frank-Alexander Hettig. In Dutch & English. 16 Pages: 1 f.c., 13 b.w., 25 x 33.5 cm. Softcover. Design: Irma Boom. ISBN 90 73501 08 3. SOLD OUT