Running, hiking, walking - even in times when most people have cars, use bicycles or e-scooters, or take public transport, we still cover most of our distances on foot. Walking plays a significant role not only in everyday life, but also in contemporary art, which is illuminated in various facets in the current exhibition at the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt. This international group exhibition features photographs, video works, performances, collages, drawings, paintings, and sculptures that address locomotion on foot with the help of a broad spectrum of contemporary artistic positions.
Visitors can expect a very diverse exhibition that illuminates the act of walking in very different ways. Not only urban and rural environments, but also mental and virtual spaces are included in the confrontations. "WALK!" shows around 100 works by more than 40 international artists, in whose work the various aspects of walking represent an essential element: Walking around without a destination, for example, opens up a new space of experience in the works of Francis Alÿs or Sebastián Díaz Morales, among others. How walking is observed and monitored is shown in works by Bani Abidi or Özlem Günyol & Mustafa Kunt. Works such as those by Kubra Khademi or Pope.L address a non-walking that highlights the social dimension of walking. Narrative walking is found in works by Hiwa K, Minouk Lim, or Milica Tomić, among others. For Jan Hostettler or Hamish Fulton, the pioneer of Walking Art, walking itself is the basis of artistic reflection. The works of Carole McCourt or Fabian Herkenhoener are created through, during or following walking.
With participatory projects, the exhibition is also extended into public space.
