Guided Tour and Discussion | In the Context of the Collection: RELAX (chiarenza & hauser & co)

Marie-Antoinette Chiarenza (born in 1957 in Tunis, TN) and Daniel Hauser (born in 1959 in Bern, CH) have been working together since 1983—under the programmatic name RELAX since 1997.

The name stands for an attitude that suspends speed, pressure to perform, and tension, creating space for reflection and fundamental questions.

RELAX usually work in a situation-specific manner, incorporating both the exhibition venue and social, political, economic, and ecological contexts. Their multimedia works question social values as well as the canon and structures of art. With subtle humor and an inquiring eye, RELAX opens up new perspectives: their spatial installation What is wealth? (2010–2017) from the collection of Liechtenstein Art Museum the starting point for further reflections on value, possession, responsibility, memory—and happiness.

Works by RELAX have already twice provided the title for exhibitions at the museum: Who pays? (2006) 2017 and What do we want to keep? (2018) 2021. With such open questions or trend-setting statements, RELAX encourages joint reflection—because thinking alone is criminal.

The exhibition What is wealth? was created in close collaboration with RELAX (chiarenza & hauser & co). It combines works from the collection with a series of pieces created specifically for this solo presentation.

A production of the Liechtenstein Art Museum, curated by Christiane Meyer-Stoll with Leslie Ospelt.