MUSEUM ACQUISITIONS | TÄNDSTICKSMUSEET, JÖNKÖPING

Wolfgang Stiller, Matchstick Man, 2014. Wood, polyurethane, paint, approximately 158 cm. Courtesy of Mark Hachem Gallery

SELECTIONS delves into the world of acquisitions, exploring what museums and galleries have been adding to their collections in the past five years as well as featuring images and summaries of works and artists.

WOLFGANG STILLER
Bio: German, b. 1961
Title: Matchstick Man, 2014
Medium: Wood, polyurethane, paint
Size: approximately 158 cm
Acquired by: Tändsticksmuseet, Jönköping
Artist represented by: Mark Hachem Gallery, Beirut/ Paris/New York
Acquisition date: 2015
Inscription type: signed on back
Exhibited: Exhibited in Tändsticksmuseet, Jönköping,
Sweden
Wolfgang Stiller, Matchstick Man, 2014. Wood, polyurethane, paint, approximately 158 cm. Courtesy of Mark Hachem Gallery
Wolfgang Stiller, Matchstick Man, 2014. Wood, polyurethane, paint, approximately 158 cm. Courtesy of Mark Hachem Gallery

German artist Wolfgang Stiller acquired several leftover head molds and large pieces of bamboo wood for a movie production many years back while he was living in Beijing. He began experimenting with these components and struck upon an idea to create several large-scale burnt matches where the charred remains of the matchstick appeared as human heads. This series of sculptures, titled ‘Matchstickmen’, has gained the artist significant recognition in the art world. While the life-sized, burnt down matchsticks with human heads could symbolise how we burn out and get left behind in a society that only focuses on economic growth, Stiller leaves much of the meanings of his work to the viewer’s imagination. In fact, the artist believes that works that do not leave any space for one’s own interpretation are boring, and that everyone should have their own commentary while admiring an artwork.

Courtesy of Mark Hachem Gallery

A VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN PRINT IN SELECTIONS #55

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