"Der, der kommt ist nicht der den du erwartet hast, 1999

From the beginning of his artistic career, Philipp Gasser has devoted his attention to drawing. This is still true, even though he mainly works with media now. While his animations are staged as simple projections, they have a strong physical pulling effect. They reach out from within the picture and physically involve the viewer. Just like most of his installations, “Der, der kommt, ist nicht der, den du erwartet hast...” (1999) tells an “insignificant” everyday story. People approach us, wave at us, but then go past us, almost touching us in the process. This is a work revolving around perception, around remoteness and proximity; its subtext may also be a story about unrequited love. And this brings in the issue of melancholy—failure as a motivation for and origin of art.

"The art of failure" at Kunsthaus Baselland Muttenz,
curated by Claudia Spinelli and Sabine Schaschl