The Then Set Here Place as And - Peter Downsbrough

THE, THEN, SET, HERE, PLACE, AS, AND these seven words give their name to the intervention that the artist Peter Downsbrough carried out in the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion. The author interacts with the pavilion placing them (literally) in a modest way but with a very powerful poetics throughout the most recognizable elements of the building. “My work offers a reflection on the importance of the position taken: that of sculpture within its context, that of the viewer vis-à-vis the work, that of the artist within the world that surrounds. Within these complex structures the position of each element plays a decisive role, and this goes for language as well as architecture. The words used to mark the architecture, the passage thus offer an opening onto the environment, an opening towards interpretation. Conjunctions articulate relationships that leave everyone free to decide their own terms”. Peter Downsbrough The publication, which can be considered an artist’s book, reproduces and places the seven words together with their characteristic lines. It also has photographs that document the intervention and a magnificent text by Moritz Küng that serves the reader to delve into Downsbrough’s work.