May 2007
Erik van Lieshout
Dutch video artist Erik van Lieshout is known for producing movies with an almost claustrophobic nearness to their subjects. In addition to the discomfort of meeting men and women nose to nose, his films stir up disgust, sympathy, and intrigue, sometimes simultaneously. For Munich audiences, van Lieshout has created a series of small viewing containers that are on display in front of the Lenbachhaus through July. Outfitted with flimsy plywood or gaudy Oriental rugs, the boxes force viewers into an intimate relationship with the people sitting on the floor next to them and on the screens. The boxes are showing van Lieshout’s most important works, including Happiness 2003, and Rock, a new film about the world of the Dutch nouveau riche.
