Ulrich Horndash

Ulrich Horndash is a Munich-based artist who makes visually theatrical installations that are adapted to the particular architecture of the gallery space. The work currently on exhibit was conceived in Munich using floor plans and photographs of the Contemporary Art Gallery and then constructed in Vancouver. Having exhibited extensively in Europe and the United States, this is the artist's first exhibition in Canada.

Horndash’s installations make visual reference to national flags, to formalist abstract painting, to propagandistic signage and to the modern city. As visual/linguistic carriers of meaning, these various components signify rational order and authoritative systems. At the same time, however, he unsettles the stability of such order by including images of imploding buildings that suggest an inherent vulnerability within any authoritative system. On a more literal level this installation also makes a poignant statement about an anticipated future that allows little space for the past; the iconography of collapsing buildings has special significance to such a quickly developing city as Vancouver.

The Contemporary Art Gallery would like to thank those who have made this exhibition possible: Ulrich Horndash; Goethe-Institut Vancouver; Galerie Tanit, Munich; Kulturreferat der Stadt München, Munich; and Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, Stuttgart. 


Essay: "Architecture as History: Ulrich Horndash," Arni Haraldsson

A closeup of four black and white photos on a white and red wall. The photos show different large buildings collapsing. The works are mounted slightly away from the wall, creating strong shadows.

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04-UlrichHorndash-1991.jpeg

A wall of a gallery with black and white text. The top half of the wall is white and the bottom is red. The text reads "Futurism: of the engineers or architecture as anticipation of the past." 

thumbnail_01-UlrichHorndash-1991.jpeg

01-UlrichHorndash-1991.jpeg

Two art works on a red and white wall. The works are black and white photos of buildings collapsing. In one, people stand, witnessing the disaster, and the other photo is from a bird's-eye view.

thumbnail_02-UlrichHorndash-1991.jpeg

02-UlrichHorndash-1991.jpeg

Eight large artworks on a white and red wall. The works are large black and white photos of buildings collapsing. The works are mounted slightly away from the wall, creating dramatic shadows. 

Ulrich Horndash

Exhibitions