Artists

Camille Lütjens, Carlo Travaglia, Elena Barmpa, Laura Nan, Stéphane Nabil Petitmermet, Ice Wong Kei Suet

Press release

Six artists lay down trails in the Artists' Bar at Cabaret Voltaire, leading in various directions. The exhibition, «The Red Herring,» named after the English idiom for a false or misleading clue, plays not only with distraction but, more importantly, with ambiguity and the expectations we place on contemporary art and the historic birthplace of Dada. This site is visited daily by tourists, the art scene, and casual passersby alike—some hoping to find treasures from the last century. The artists’ trails intentionally divert from straightforward interpretations, yet they continually loop back to Dada, the history of the place, their own artistic practices, and the concepts tied to the idea of an Artists’ Bar—both in general and as it pertains to this location: In 1916, Cabaret Voltaire was founded on the upper floor, known as the Holländerstübli of the Dutch Dairy, a meeting spot where beer and wine were offered, and where the old sailor Jan Ephraim would occasionally serve fish. Even then, the place symbolized internationalism and variety. Today’s «Artists’ Bar» seeks to expand by incorporating contemporary practices and questions.

Camille Lütjens, Carlo Travaglia, Elena Barmpa, Laura Nan, Stéphane Nabil Petitmermet, and Ice Wong Kei Suet are currently pursuing their master’s degrees at the Zurich University of the Arts. The Dadaists themselves were in their early twenties when they founded Cabaret Voltaire—some still students, while others, like Sophie Taeuber-Arp, already employed at what is now ZHdK. In its commitment to integrating artists at the beginning of their careers alongside established and historical figures, Cabaret Voltaire invited these six emerging artists to collectively occupy and reimagine the Artists' Bar, through their individual practices, while echoing its history.

In cooperation with Zürcher Hochschule der Künste