In fall 2016, for the first time in many years, Rut Him­mels­bach’s work (*1950 in Zug, lives in Basel and Guatemala) will be shown in a com­pre­hen­sive overview at Kun­sthaus Lan­gen­thal. After gain­ing broad recog­ni­tion in the 1980s, when she par­tic­i­pated in all impor­tant group exhi­bi­tions on young Swiss art, her work has rarely been shown in the past few years, even less out­side of Basel.
Kun­sthaus Lan­gen­thal invited her for her first insti­tu­tional solo exhi­bi­tion in over 12 years, which com­pre­hends both works from all peri­ods as well as new pieces. In the com­bi­na­tion of images, mate­r­ial and objects she cre­ates new mean­ings and poetic force. While her work has an imme­di­ate appeal it never loses its com­plex­ity and ambi­gu­ity. Rut Him­mels­bach’s work is witty. It is humor­ous, but in an earnest way. Next to her pho­to­graphic prac­tise, con­sist­ing of asso­cia­tive photo series, she also works with a wide array of mate­ri­als, often in unusual com­bi­na­tions. In these com­po­si­tions, pho­tog­ra­phy and paint­ing are often com­bined. For the exhi­bi­tion she will create a new group of works, which also link to Him­mels­bach’s per­sonal and artis­tic biog­ra­phy, pur­su­ing her inter­est in tex­tiles and garments.