Piero Steinle The Triumph of Laughter

Stefania Miscetti Studio in collaboration with the Goethe Institut Rome invites, for the first time in Rome, the artist Piero Steinle (Münich,1959) with his video installation project The Triumph of Laughter, a new version in the context of the Laughterproject. Last autumn this project was a major success at the Spazio Oberdan and the Triennale di Milano. In this series Steinle’s investigates on the laughter phenomena, on the hilarious behavior of people from different nationalities, ages and backgrounds, involving both public and private domains. The content of his work is conceived as the cinematic elaboration of the laugher gesture, filmed as a staging act, mostly starting with a beginning phase and ending with a blasting laughter, that often flows into hysteria.“In his examination of laughter, Steinle has successfully initiated a reflection on the significance of laughter in today’s society and touched on a theme that is receiving increasing attention also in various academic fields s uch as sociology, philosophy, history and literature.” Annesusanne Fackler.

The laughter is devised as an authentic liberating moment and proposed by Steinle ironically as the definitive solution to the individual’s crisis in today’s society: “Meanwhile contemporary man and globalized world seem to be more and more in the grip of problems and crisis as artist I suggest as the universal solution the pure and simple laughter, individual and collective. Laughter triumphs on the seriousness of the world and money. It is the real revolution!” Together with The Triumph of Laughter’s triple synchronized video projection also some of the photographic works of the project Paradiesvögel will be shown, in which Steinle once again explores the contradiction between what is apparently conceived as a natural state and which is the result of a coercive and induced behavior.

Piero Steinle (was born in Munich in 1959, lives and works between Munich and Milan) after studying architecture and archeology in Munich, Rome and Seville in 1994 began to exhibit his video work with installation “Stadt im Verborgenen” Orangerie, Munich. Later he has participated in various groups exhibitions including: 1997 "Deep Storage" Haus der Kunst , Munich; 1998 "Deep Storage" P.S. 1, New York; 1998 "Performing Buildings" Tate Gallery of Modern Art, London; 2002 Meine Kunst kriegt hier zu fressen - Hommage à Max Beckmann, Centre National Georges Pompidou, Paris; 2007 "Destroy Athens" The 1st Athens Biennial, Athen; selected solo exhibition: 2000 "Julian Rosefeldt / Piero Steinle" Galerie Romain Larivière, Paris; 2002 "Detonation Deutschland" Moderna Museet, Stockholm; 2005 Triphibious construction Tokyo Gallery, Tokio. His works are part of relevant private and public collections: Sammlung Hoffmann Berlin, Deutsche Bank, Filmmuseum Munich; Maison Européenne de la Photographie; Kuns thalle Mannheim; Museum Franz Gertsch.

Thereafter, the exhibition will be presented to MADRE Contemporary art Museum of Naples, Palermo and Genoa in collaboration with the local branches of the Goethe-Institut. On the occasion of the exhibition has been published a catalogue by the Goethe-Institut Mailand Mimesis publisher.

The Triumph of Laughter

opening: thursday 5th february 2009 6.30 pm Studio Stefania Miscetti last day: saturday 7th march 2009 via delle Mantellate, 14 - 00165 Roma gallery hours from tuesday to saturday 4 - 8 pm tel/fax: + 39 06 6880 5880 e mail: mistef@iol.it

Piero Steinle
"The Triumph of Laughter"