Wolfgang Laib's Alchemical Art at MASI Lugano

Wolfgang Laib, born in Metzingen in 1950, creates art that juxtaposes contemporary forms with unusual materials, blending postminimalist structures with archetypal shapes and merging Western and non-Western cultures. His work harmonizes rationality with reflections on eternal themes, approaching a spiritual dimension without rhetoric. Nature is his medium, engaged through rigorous rituals like pollen collection, an antifunctional activity requiring months for minimal yield. At MASI Lugano, the exhibition in the underground floor features nearly all his iconic works: a marble slab with milk creates a tactile illusion; a sculpture of black granite and oil occupies the first room. Pollen appears in both a small, soft installation and a large, spectacular one where the material becomes pure light. Rice is meticulously piled, and beeswax, scenting the space, forms a huge ziggurat. Drawings and photographs from around the world complete the display. Laib's art is indirectly political, offering an alternative without anti-modern rhetoric, renewing contemporary art canons by questioning and softening them. It operates symbolically, reconnecting sensation and analysis, revealing a gentle rebellion beneath apparent calm, with an ironic undertone rarely associated with his work.