Schrödingers Katze ist tot, 2025

*Schrödinger’s Cat Is Dead* refers to Bruno Griesel’s work *Schrödinger’s Cat* (2012). In that work, Griesel combined the famous thought experiment by the physicist Erwin Schrödinger with a complex visual composition: at the centre, on a plinth, are two cats at play, flanked on the right and left by two figures who, clad only in cloths, play a decorative role.

The new work picks up precisely where this left off – and draws a radical conclusion. The experiment is over; the cat is no longer in a state of limbo between life and death: it is dead. With this unambiguous title, the work breaks through Griesel’s metaphysical limbo and confronts the viewer with finality.

The replacement of the central motif is crucial. In place of the playing cats comes the Venus Italica – a figure in the tradition of the Venus Pudica pose. This classical pose depicts the naked Venus attempting to cover herself with her hands and a cloth. The body is revealed, yet at the same time marked as modest and passive by the gesture. It is both a revelation and a concealment – a visual scheme that makes the female body accessible to the gaze whilst simultaneously controlling it.

In the new work, Venus appears translucent, almost ghostly, as if she were trying to withdraw from view – and yet she stands on a plinth that has been sewn in. In the sewn-in section, the Venus Italica suddenly seems less transparent. Thus, dissolution and persistence, fragility and fixation clash directly with one another. It is also striking that the two figures framing the scene do not assume idealised, historical roles, but appear in everyday clothing – in a jacket, shorts and socks. It is precisely this everyday quality that breaks the distance from the classical motif and shifts the focus away from the traditional ideal of beauty towards a contemporary, self-assured presence.

The figure on the right is holding a hammer. Whether she will actually smash the Venus remains open to interpretation – perhaps the statue will crumble even before the blow lands?

:

Oil on canvas

Technique:

Painting and sewing

Shipping:

The work will be shipped stretched onto a stretcher frame, complete with a recessed frame – including a certificate of authenticity and the artist’s signature on the reverse.