The Presence of Absence – Matter and Traces / Imprints of Life in Time

The exhibition is a cooperation with Senckenberg Society for Nature Research and Institute for Theoretical Physics at the Goethe University Frankfurt

With Heidi Bucher, Lawrence Malstaf, Marshmallow Laser Feast, Petra Noordkamp, Claudio Parmiggiani, Toni R. Toivonen and with exhibits from the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, Florentine Museum and Institute of Prehistory “Paolo Graziosi”, the Natural History Museum of Vienna, the LWL-Museum of Natural History in Münster, Associazione Gibellina Parco Culturale and with Prof Dr Luciano Rezzolla, Institute for Theoretical Physics at Goethe University Frankfurt

Curated by: Franziska Nori, with scientific support from Anita Lavorano and Laura Perrone

The exhibition The Presence of Absence revolves around the theme of humankind’s endless confrontation with the idea of change and transience and their forms of representation in art. The title alludes to matter as a presence in which traces of the living are inscribed. This vital energy is powerful, yet fleeting.

Where do we come from? What is the origin of all matter on earth and in the infinity of the cosmos? What does it mean to recognise black holes in the centre of our galaxy, in which infinitely condensed matter creates a void and absence? What effects do natural events create that reshape the earth and change people’s lives with their power? And how do people deal with the existential need to face eternity in their finiteness? What myths and images do they create in order to connect with the spiritual? Is art a way of immortalising oneself in time?

These questions have shaped the imagination of us humans from prehistoric times to the present day. Ever since humans have existed on earth, they have invented symbols and signs to give form to their feelings, thoughts and knowledge, to leave traces in time and perhaps to connect with eternity.

Works by important contemporary artists enter into a dialogue with scientific exhibits from the fields of geology and astrophysics, with casts from Pompeii, with footprints of prehistoric people from the Laetoli site in present-day Tanzania and with replicas of prehistoric cave drawings of human ancestors. All exhibits refer to existential questions of being human in the dimensions of space and time. They explore the idea of traces of existence that are inscribed in matter.

With the exhibition The Presence of Absence, the Frankfurter Kunstverein is continuing its collaboration with the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research for the fourth time. Following Trees of Life (2019), Edmond’s Prehistoric Realm (2020) and Bending the Curve (2023), the Frankfurter Kunstverein has now created a show that invited science to ask fundamental questions. The collaboration arises from the ongoing discussions between Prof Franziska Nori, Director of the Frankfurter Kunstverein, and Prof Dr Andreas Mulch, Director of the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt. In addition, we have been able to win over Prof Dr Luciano Rezzolla, from the Institute for Theoretical Physics at the Goethe University Frankfurt, to allow science and art to enter into an intensive dialogue as a common force of human thought and research.