Home Staging at *Kurator / Rapperswil, Switzerland

Jessica Pooch, Roman Gysin / Home Staging 
curated by Christina Lehnert
May 20th – July31st, 2016
a project of the *Kurator – Programm by Gebert Stiftung fuer Kultur @ Kunst(zeug)Haus, Rapperswil, CH



 Jessica Pooch




HOME STAGING is a conceptual exhibition by artist Jessica Pooch. “To stage” means exhibit, put on, or present something. At first it isn’t clear what is being exhibited. The exhibition space has been fully furnished and decorated. A living room has been replicated in the loft-like architectural space of the Kunstzeughaus—but minus all traces of everyday living. The title, Home Staging, refers to the method of installation: home stagers are professional agencies that set up and decorate vacant properties whose furnishings will eventually be upgraded. By creating a home-like atmosphere, potential buyers get a better sense for what it would actually be like to live there—the idea is to create a positive atmosphere. While these depersonalized furnishings and decorations must appeal to general tastes in a way that is as aesthetically neutral as possible, the conditions for art are less open. In Home Staging, however, Jessica Pooch places these two demands on a similar plane by displaying her own sculptures in a room that has been professionally staged. Roman Gysin, whose work explores the boundaries between art and decoration, was invited by Jessica Pooch to collaborate with her and tests out his wall objects in the context of this home-like setting.


Jessica Pooch (b. 1982 in Berlin) lives and works in Zurich.
Roman Gysin (b. 1984 in Möhlin, CH) lives and works in Zurich and Hamburg.