But why reflect on the body today? Do we not already know enough about it? We all have bodies. More than that: we are all bodies. The body can be observed from the outside and examined from within, measured and quantified. It can be pathologised and objectified, healed and cared for. Bodies are vulnerable entities. The vulnerability of the body is an existential condition of being human. Or is it merely a problem we seek to bring under control? Bodies are finite. And at the same time, bodies are political. The body is not solely a private matter; it is the site upon which world views, value systems and thus politics are played out. For vulnerability is unevenly distributed within society.

In the exhibition Anatomy of Fragility contemporary artists express a transformed sense of corporeality, its reinterpretation and the call for a new image of humanity. Their works encounter spectacular objects from different contexts and eras: from the idealised depictions of the body in Archaic Greek art, through religious votive offerings as prayers for healing, to anatomical wax figures of the 18th century presented in Germany for the first time, and on to the latest images from medical research, in which we travel virtually through a beating heart.

Anatomy of Fragility takes you on a journey through the history of body images, where the increasingly scientific gaze into the interior of our bodies continually shifts and redefines the question of who we are.

With texts by Franziska Nori, Anita Lavorano and Pia Seifüßl.

English, 112 pages, 47 illustrations
Softcover, staple binding
ISBN 978-3-9824313-38

Peter Weiermair, director of the Frankfurter Kunstverein from 1980 to 1998, dedicated two solo exhibitions to Parmiggiani in 1981 and 1988. The artist’s book Poesie Dipinte (Painted Poems) was published in 1981 as a unique edition for the members of the Frankfurter Kunstverein and contains a selection of poems written by Parmiggiani. Each copy of this book, which combines poetry and art in a special way, is numbered and personally signed by the artist – a rare collector’s item.

Claudio Parmiggiani (b. 1943, Luzzara, IT) lives and works in Parma, IT. He is one of the central figures in post-war art in Italy and Europe. Although Parmiggiani chose an independent path within the Italian art scene and never aligned himself with a specific artistic movement, his work can be situated between Arte Povera and Conceptual Art. His works have been exhibited internationally in museums and collections. Solo exhibitions have taken place at the following institutions: Frist Museum, Nashville, TN (US), Accademia di Francia Villa Medici, Rome (IT), Palais des Beaux-Arts – BOZAR, Brussels (BE), Palazzo del Governatore, Parma (IT), Palazzo Fabroni Arti Visive Contemporanee, Pistoia (IT), Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes (FR), Grand Palais, Paris (FR), Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Bologna (IT), Museum of Art, Tel Aviv (IL), Musée Fabre, Montpellier (FR), and the Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt am Main (DE). Parmiggiani also participated in the Venice Biennale (IT) six times. His works are part of prominent collections, including those of the Centre Pompidou, Paris (FR), Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (NL), Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana (CU), National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík (IS), Mamco – Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Geneva (CH), Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris (FR), Francois Pinault Foundation, Venice (IT), and Museo del Novecento, Milan (IT). In his literary work, the following publications stand out: Poesie dipinte (1981), Il sangue del colore (1988), Stella Sangue Spirito (published in 1995, 2003, and 2007), Incipit (2008), Una fede in niente ma totale (2010), and Lettere a Luisa (2016).

Sonja Yakovleva (*1989, Potsdam, DE) lives and works in Frankfurt am Main (DE). She studied at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach and the Athens School of Fine Arts (GR). She is a member of the collective KVTV, with whom Yakovleva operates the video blog KulturvotzenTV on contemporary art on Instagram and curates exhibition and publication projects. Sonja Yakovleva has exhibited in various institutions, including Kunstraum Potsdam, Potsdam (DE), Kunstpalais Erlangen, Erlangen (DE), Klingspor Museum, Offenbach am Main (DE), Städtische Galerie Nordhorn, Nordhorn (DE), saasfee pavillon, Frankfurt am Main (DE), and Neuer Kunstverein Gießen, Gießen (DE).

If you are interested in the edition, please send us your contact details using the form below. We will check stock availability immediately and get in touch with you.

Sonja Yakovleva (*1989, Potsdam, DE) lives and works in Frankfurt am Main (DE). She studied at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach and the Athens School of Fine Arts (GR). She is a member of the collective KVTV, with whom Yakovleva operates the video blog KulturvotzenTV on contemporary art on Instagram and curates exhibition and publication projects. Sonja Yakovleva has exhibited in various institutions, including Kunstraum Potsdam, Potsdam (DE), Kunstpalais Erlangen, Erlangen (DE), Klingspor Museum, Offenbach am Main (DE), Städtische Galerie Nordhorn, Nordhorn (DE), saasfee pavillon, Frankfurt am Main (DE), and Neuer Kunstverein Gießen, Gießen (DE).

Sonja Yakovleva (*1989, Potsdam, DE) lives and works in Frankfurt am Main (DE). She studied at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach and the Athens School of Fine Arts (GR). She is a member of the collective KVTV, with whom Yakovleva operates the video blog KulturvotzenTV on contemporary art on Instagram and curates exhibition and publication projects. Sonja Yakovleva has exhibited in various institutions, including Kunstraum Potsdam, Potsdam (DE), Kunstpalais Erlangen, Erlangen (DE), Klingspor Museum, Offenbach am Main (DE), Städtische Galerie Nordhorn, Nordhorn (DE), saasfee pavillon, Frankfurt am Main (DE), and Neuer Kunstverein Gießen, Gießen (DE).

Sonja Yakovleva (*1989, Potsdam, DE) lives and works in Frankfurt am Main (DE). She studied at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach and the Athens School of Fine Arts (GR). She is a member of the collective KVTV, with whom Yakovleva operates the video blog KulturvotzenTV on contemporary art on Instagram and curates exhibition and publication projects. Sonja Yakovleva has exhibited in various institutions, including Kunstraum Potsdam, Potsdam (DE), Kunstpalais Erlangen, Erlangen (DE), Klingspor Museum, Offenbach am Main (DE), Städtische Galerie Nordhorn, Nordhorn (DE), saasfee pavillon, Frankfurt am Main (DE), and Neuer Kunstverein Gießen, Gießen (DE).

Sonja Yakovleva (*1989, Potsdam, DE) lives and works in Frankfurt am Main (DE). She studied at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach and the Athens School of Fine Arts (GR). She is a member of the collective KVTV, with whom Yakovleva operates the video blog KulturvotzenTV on contemporary art on Instagram and curates exhibition and publication projects. Sonja Yakovleva has exhibited in various institutions, including Kunstraum Potsdam, Potsdam (DE), Kunstpalais Erlangen, Erlangen (DE), Klingspor Museum, Offenbach am Main (DE), Städtische Galerie Nordhorn, Nordhorn (DE), saasfee pavillon, Frankfurt am Main (DE), and Neuer Kunstverein Gießen, Gießen (DE).

Sonja Yakovleva (*1989, Potsdam, DE) lives and works in Frankfurt am Main (DE). She studied at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach and the Athens School of Fine Arts (GR). She is a member of the collective KVTV, with whom Yakovleva operates the video blog KulturvotzenTV on contemporary art on Instagram and curates exhibition and publication projects. Sonja Yakovleva has exhibited in various institutions, including Kunstraum Potsdam, Potsdam (DE), Kunstpalais Erlangen, Erlangen (DE), Klingspor Museum, Offenbach am Main (DE), Städtische Galerie Nordhorn, Nordhorn (DE), saasfee pavillon, Frankfurt am Main (DE), and Neuer Kunstverein Gießen, Gießen (DE).

Sonja Yakovleva (*1989, Potsdam, DE) lives and works in Frankfurt am Main (DE). She studied at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach and the Athens School of Fine Arts (GR). She is a member of the collective KVTV, with whom Yakovleva operates the video blog KulturvotzenTV on contemporary art on Instagram and curates exhibition and publication projects. Sonja Yakovleva has exhibited in various institutions, including Kunstraum Potsdam, Potsdam (DE), Kunstpalais Erlangen, Erlangen (DE), Klingspor Museum, Offenbach am Main (DE), Städtische Galerie Nordhorn, Nordhorn (DE), saasfee pavillon, Frankfurt am Main (DE), and Neuer Kunstverein Gießen, Gießen (DE).

Sonja Yakovleva (*1989, Potsdam, DE) lives and works in Frankfurt am Main (DE). She studied at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach and the Athens School of Fine Arts (GR). She is a member of the collective KVTV, with whom Yakovleva operates the video blog KulturvotzenTV on contemporary art on Instagram and curates exhibition and publication projects. Sonja Yakovleva has exhibited in various institutions, including Kunstraum Potsdam, Potsdam (DE), Kunstpalais Erlangen, Erlangen (DE), Klingspor Museum, Offenbach am Main (DE), Städtische Galerie Nordhorn, Nordhorn (DE), saasfee pavillon, Frankfurt am Main (DE), and Neuer Kunstverein Gießen, Gießen (DE).

If you are interested in the edition, please send us your contact details using the form below. We will check stock availability immediately and get in touch with you.