New York, February 10 – March 25, 2000
Uli Aigner’s exhibition I Like It More Beautiful transforms the public space of Art&Idea into a self-contained microcosm. The entire installation can be read as an ironic metaphor for the idea of a better world contrasted by the harsh reality of daily life. Red stripes diligently painted by hand from floor to ceiling deconstruct the gallery room, soften the hard edges of the given architecture and minimize the sterility of the white cube. Two video projections – one showing a close-up of the artist’s right hand painting the wall, the other showing the artist’s hands being manicured – occupy the space. Both videos document one of the artist’s main artistic preoccupations: the direct interaction between the body and its surroundings. The hand becomes the field of action where the interior meets the exterior world and vice versa. Aigner’s hand becomes the interface where both worlds can enter a dialogue to create something new and beautiful. The hand reappears in six large and colorful drawings copying the carefully selected and “more beautiful” details from invitation cards designed by and for artist friends such as Peter Land and Elke Krystufek.
