Songs for Gay Dogs

Cosima von Bonin

11.10.2024 – 02.03.2025

Miniguide	Download the exhibition booklet and learn more about the exhibition English, French and German
Curator	Clementine Proby
Associate Curator	Clément Minighetti
Musical compositions	Moritz von Oswald
Thanks to	ifa - Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen
Performance	thonk piece: 80% twins , 10.10.2024 , 19:30 – 20:30
Ifa Logo Lang RGB Schwarz Schwarz
Documents	Cosima von Bonin Miniguide \| EN (PDF, 7.6 MB) Cosima von Bonin Miniguide \| FR (PDF, 8.2 MB) Cosima von Bonin Miniguide \| DE (PDF, 7.7 MB) Booklet in simple language (PDF, 5.5 MB) Guide langage simple (PDF, 5.4 MB) Heft in Einfacher Sprache (PDF, 5.4 MB)
Cosima von Bonin: Songs for Gay Dogs	Cosima von Bonin's new publication Songs for Gay Dogs is at once a book about the work the artist has produced in the last two decades and a personal look into Cosima's world. It includes 200 illustrations and previously unseen images. Buy online

Populated by animals and cartoon characters, Songs for Gay Dogs is a monographic exhibition by German artist Cosima von Bonin (1962, Mombasa) that highlights her most recent creations. The exhibition presents works produced over the past ten years, alongside new commissions and some well-known works. It unfolds in a series of staged scenes involving familiar characters pulled from the world of animation, comic strips or from under the sea. Cult figures such as Daffy Duck and Bambi take part in the exhibition, alongside fish, whales, scallops, rabbits, sharks and pigs.

Cosima von Bonin has established herself as a singular figure in contemporary art by way of infusing sharp and humorous perspectives on our society. Her textile, sculptural and multimedia installations subvert pop culture icons and luxury industry emblems, staging stuffed animals and everyday objects that uncover the absurdity of power relations and mass consumption. Coming of age in the vibrant art scene of Cologne in the 1990s, Cosima von Bonin drew from the irreverent spirit of that time and established long-lasting artistic collaborations. Her interest in experimental electronic music sparked at the same time and manifests itself in the exhibition through soundscapes composed by Moritz von Oswald (1962, Hamburg).

The artist appropriates words, patterns and ideas from a wide range of sources, such as brands, TV shows, cartoons, fashion, art history and pop music. She plays with our expectations and enjoys deceiving them. Colourful and seductive, her recent works use and misuse symbols of entertainment and marketing codes that govern our daily lives, prompting us to reflect on the ideologies that underpin them.

Comparing museum galleries to the aisles of a supermarket, Cosima von Bonin fills them with works that seem to come alive and gain a certain autonomy. Her characters are often caught mid-action or, on the contrary, completely idle. She gives them anthropomorphic features that make them look strangely familiar, inviting viewers to reflect on existential questions that remain unanswered. Setting the pace of the exhibition, these scenes are reminiscent of our human interactions, rituals, games and symbols. All are deft metaphors for life in society.

Biography

Cosima von Bonin (b.1962, Mombasa, Kenya) lives and work in Cologne. Her work has been the subject of major exhibitions at Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (2024); Magasin III Jaffa, Tel Aviv (2019); CCS Bard, Annandale-on-Hudson (2018); Oakville Galleries, Ontario (2017); Sculpture Center, New York (2016); mumok – Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna (2014); Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis (2011); Museum Ludwig, Cologne (2011); Musée d’art moderne et contemporain, Geneva (2011); Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2007); Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne (2004); Kunstverein Hamburg (2001) and Museum Fridericianum, Kassel (1994) among others. She participated in the 59th Biennale di Venezia (2022); Skulptur Projekte Münster (2017); Glasgow International (2016) and Documenta, Kassel (2007 & 1982). Her work is held in numerous public collections including Mudam – Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; mumok – Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Museum of Modern Art, New York and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.

Vie of the exhibition ‘Cosima von Bonin: Songs for Gay Dogs’, Mudam Luxembourg. Photo: Mareike Tocha © Mudam Luxembourg — Vie of the exhibition ‘Cosima von Bonin: Songs for Gay Dogs’, Mudam Luxembourg. Photo: Mareike Tocha

© Mudam Luxembourg

View of the exhibition ‘Cosima von Bonin: Songs for Gay Dogs’, Mudam Luxembourg. Photo: Mareike Tocha © Mudam Luxembourg — View of the exhibition ‘Cosima von Bonin: Songs for Gay Dogs’, Mudam Luxembourg. Photo: Mareike Tocha

© Mudam Luxembourg

Cosima von Bonin, ‘Scallops (Dark Version), Rocking’, 2014. Mohair velours, poly ll, foam material, satin, felt, wood, lacquer, hemp rope and glittering garland. Collection of Eleanor and Bobby Cayre. View of the exhibition ‘Cosima von Bonin: Songs for Gay Dogs’, Mudam Luxembourg. Photo: Mareike Tocha © Mudam Luxembourg — Cosima von Bonin, ‘Scallops (Dark Version), Rocking’, 2014. Collection of Eleanor and Bobby Cayre. View of the exhibition ‘Cosima von Bonin: Songs for Gay Dogs’, Mudam Luxembourg. Photo: Mareike Tocha

© Mudam Luxembourg

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