Schall und Rauch – Stefan Dillemuth

This catalogue illustrates Stephan Dillemuth’s elaborate solo show at the Künstlerhaus, Halle für Kunst & Medien, Graz, through installation photographs as well as texts by art historian Kerstin Stakemeier and theorist Helmut Draxler.

Addressing the question of the role of the artist in society, Dillemuth challenges the contemporary imperative that artists, as exemplars of individuality, are required to have a distinct authorial identity. Despite a history of working collaboratively and prioritizing artistic research, at the Künstlerhaus Dillemuth exposes himself as a solo artist, reconstructing the history of his work from the margins of group life that has taken shape in the midst of it. Here he reveals the consistency of the farce of his ego, the heroic yet bad-mannered delinquent artist subject. Dillemuth presents his aging body for all to see, playing with the boundaries between inside and outside, institution and alternative, and life and form.