Thomas Bayrle's Spectacular Combinations at Mamco

Thomas Bayrle's exhibition "Their Combination Is Spectacular" at Mamco in Geneva from June 24 to September 27, 2009, explored his method of combining repetitive, serial elements to produce spectacular effects. The title, drawn from an interview with Lars Bang Larsen in the catalog for Bayrle's earlier show at Macba in Barcelona (February 5 – April 19), highlights two key aspects: combination and the spectacular. Bayrle, born in 1937, structures his work through graphic grids, a practice rooted in his experience working in a weaving factory in the late 1950s. This approach conditions both the combination of forms and their spectacular effects, partially aligning with constructivism. His rhythmic repetition and variation of motifs produce images of bodies, machines, figures, and symbols rather than pure abstraction. The exhibition featured silkscreens, sculptures, mechanical paintings, collages, and drawings. The silkscreens, in particular, offer an optical experience and a play of representations, with saturation effects that transcend Op and Pop art. Bayrle's work, begun in the early 1970s, reveals through its graphic writing the essence of the digital medium and extends into aesthetic and ethical realms.