Double - 40 Years of Kabinett für aktuelle Kunst, Bremerhaven
An exhibition series by the MMK in cooperation with Gregor Schneider and Moritz Wesseler.

As of today, a thick, blue mat with high jump equipment set up in front of it awaits visitors to MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt/Main. However, this is not some kind of new competition location for the more sporting visitors to the museum, but an artwork, Fallen, Hochsprunganlagen, Berg Sportgeräte, set up by artist Andreas Slominski for the Double exhibition series. The work was first devised in 1988 for Kabinett für aktuelle Kunst in Bremerhaven and has been reconstructed true to the original at MMK. All the individual exhibition sections in the "Double" series showcase examples of projects from the legendary Bremerhaven gallery, copied for the museum in Frankfurt in close collaboration with the curators, Gregor Schneider and Moritz Wesseler.

On show at MMK until August 15, the work belongs to Slominski's group of "Fallen/Traps", a word that is particularly characteristic of the artist, who frequently refers to himself as a "trapper". Slominski truly loves to create ambiguous works full of humor, and his traps are usually taken from everyday life. This particular work is not a trap for an animal and instead more a somewhat abstract trap.

This standard high jump equipment is in full working order. Unlike Marcel Duchamp's ready-mades, where the article declared a piece of art was consciously stripped of its basic functions, in Andreas Slominski's case, the traps even have a dual function, they are both works of art and sports equipment. In formal terms, the high jump equipment echoes the crossbar in the window of the reproduced exhibition room with its horizontals and verticals, and thus in an otherwise empty room underscores the color, shape and aesthetic character of the work of art. The sports equipment stands in the room in such a way that it could be used, if you simply jumped through the glass window, that is. By presenting facts that are nevertheless somehow askew, it could thus become a trap. What becomes apparent here is that the artist's oeuvre is characterized by subtle and multi-layered levels of interpretation. The trap is a calculated relationship between cause and effect, and they strike a perfect balance. It is accordingly a prime symbol for the art of Andreas Slominski.

Admittedly, "all" that the exhibition shows is standard high jump equipment, but this becomes ensnares our expectations, causing us to reflect on perception and art.