“Hail to the Artist”

by Sebastian Weggler

Opening ceremony with the artist:
Saturday, January 11th 5-8 pm
Exhibition dates:
January 11th – March 1st, 2014

Ten Haaf Projects is pleased to announce “Hail to the Artist,” an astonishing solo show by Sebastian Weggler (b.1983). Constructed in a medieval setting, the exhibition offers a commemorative look back at the artist’s accomplishments during his thirty years of life thus far.

Having previously demonstrated his exceptional skills in working with a wide range of media through the clay figures, felt carpets and animation movies presented at the introductory group show “Young and Restless” and ensuing solo show “Everything except a dance performance,” Sebastian Weggler continues to focus on turning everyday available materials into strangely humorous art.

From a distance, chiseled geometric fragments neatly fit together to depict self-portraits and symbolic autobiographical scenes representing heroic actions of the artist. However, similarly to his landscape and still life outlines composed of dead flies individually pinned to canvas, this series of carvings calls for a closer inspection. While at first glance the grand relief sculptures suggest classical ivory or marble, a familiar scent might suggest otherwise. The story for eternity is etched into fading bricks of ordinary curd soap.

Accompanied by hanging flags showing emblems and banners proclaiming artist statements, the main sculpture comes in the form of a sarcophagus. Lying in the gallery like a king in his tomb, a large figurine of the artist is encased in a glass top that rests on a base of soap framed in oak wood and decorated with metal fittings made out of very convincing tin silver. All together, the pieces create a magnificent sensation of standing amidst remains of an ancient culture.


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Based in Germany, Sebastian Weggler graduated from the Academy of Düsseldorf in 2011 and has since shown his work in a number of exhibitions in both his home country and the Netherlands.