The new building was designed by Frankfurt architect Christoph Mäckler and is located on the Maininsel, in the centre of the city. At the opening in May 2006, the first project in the “Light Lab” series, by Olafur Eliasson, was installed under the building’s glass ceiling and could already be seen from outside at night. Additional light installations were added over the following two years, continually changing the appearance of the structure.

The Deutsche Bank Foundation has been a patron of the Portikus for years, and has sponsored several exhibitions since 1999. The Portikus is the most reputated location for contemporary art in Frankfurt am Main. Founded in 1987, it was long considered Germany’s wittiest, cheapest new exhibition space: Hinter das Portal der Stadtbibliothek wurden nach einem Entwurf der ehemaligen Städelschüler Marie-Theres Deutsch und Klaus Dreißigacker einfache Container gestellt. This original exhibition space takes its name from the remains of the classicistic library building.

Derided as a stopgap at first, the Portikus has since become a celebrated site for sophisticated objects d’art. In jährlich sechs bis acht Ausstellungen wurden und werden im Portikus, der zur Städelschule gehört, ebenso junge Positionen wie aktuelle Werke etablierter Künstler präsentiert. The Deutsche Bank Foundation is proud to continue its support of this Frankfurt institution, whose high artistic demands have earned it an excellent international reputation, in 2006.

Opening: 21 November 2008, 8 pm
Duration of Exhibition:
22 November 2008 - 11 January 2009

Frances Stark's (b. 1967, lives and works in Los Angeles) works arise mainly out of a complex system of references comprising texts and images. Thus the metaphorical significance and composition of the written word on the canvas or the paper form the starting point from which her collages and texts draw their creative sustenance. Equally important for her method of working are visual templates from the world of art; they can be derived from classical art, but can also be taken from textual and pictorial material from a more contemporary or sub-cultural genre. She creates networks made up of different found and discovered symbols, cuttings and graphic elements, quotations from literature and autobiographical references in the delicate ornament of her collages. Equally characteristic for the contextual composition of the works is the illumination of and engagement with her own personal creative process as well as with the diverse roles and attitudes she adopts as an artist and author.

The group of works originated for Portikus entitled "The New Vision" shows 17 new works on paper and canvas, which likewise refer partly to models from classical art, partly autobiographical fragments, partly early works and partly texts from her immediate professional environment. Frances Stark's unique method in The New Vision clearly demonstrates once more that by constantly varying the aesthetics and dispensations of the game with the lightest of touches, it is possible to adopt one's own role in the art world's system among the range of analytical, conceptual and a playfully poetic approaches.

The exhibition is supported by Deutsche Bank Stiftung. It will be accompanied by a catalogue to be published early 2009. For more information and for guided tours of the exhibition, please contact info@portikus.de

Morgan Fisher
31 January - 15 March 2009

Nina Könnemann
28 March - 3 May 2009