Rirkrit Tiravanija Unveils Exhibition and New Opera Production

Andrea Lissoni, Director, Haus der Kunst, said: "Our programming aims to break new ground and create new partnerships, radically transforming ways of displaying and canons of work. No one is more appropriate than Rirkrit Tiravanija to challenge the opera stage and to be simultaneously hosted at Haus der Kunst with an inventive exhibition format."

In a de-centralised exhibition from 5 to 29 May 2023, Haus der Kunst is showing works by the artist Rirkrit Tiravanija (b. 1961, Buenos Aires) at various sites in the building. In a first collaboration between Haus der Kunst and the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, the exhibition takes place at the same time as Toshio Hosokawa's opera Hanjo, which will be performed in the Westgalerie of Haus der Kunst and for which Rirkrit Tiravanija has created the stage design. First performance: Friday 5 May 2023.

Parallel to the performances of Hanjo, Tiravanija's work will be presented across Haus der Kunst. The practice of the visual artist and per­former focuses on the artistic production of social engage­ment, often inviting viewers to inhabit, participate and activate his work. Over the course of his thirty-year career, he has also come to incorporate installations, painting, printmaking, video, photography, mixed-media assemblage, and music into his practice, but always with an emphasis on varied cultural spaces and temporalities. He interweaves both spheres of art and life to bring people together by engaging them in shared rituals and actions. Tiravanija is not just creating an exhibition for Haus der Kunst, but also forming connec­tions in and out of the house, and making overlaps with Toshio Hosokawa's opera Hanjo.

The exhibition includes:

• Intimate tea ceremony performances by Japanese artist Mai Ueda, activating the stage set for Hanjo in the Westgalerie.
• Shot-by-shot remake of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's seminal 1974 film, Angst essen Seele auf, activated by Austrian actor Florian Troebinger in the Terrassensaal.
• T-shirt printing workshops in the Atelier with Tiravanija's slogan designs, sourced from the opera Hanjo and turned into individual lines, with the artist Mathias Becker.
• A series of the artist's ping pong tables, untitled 2013 (morgen ist die frage), in the Terrassensaal, welcoming visitors to actively participate by playing.
• A screening of the video work, untitled 2011 (pay attention), at the entrance of Haus der Kunst, alongside newly commissioned banners that reference the opera Hanjo.
• Screenings of the artist's moving image work in the Auditorium.

The new production of Toshio Hosokawa's opera Hanjo in cooperation with the Bayerische Staatsoper is an interplay of opera, dance and visual arts. Hanjo is based on the modern Nō play by the same name by Yukio Mishima (1915 - 1970, Tokyo), which is inspired by a 14th century play. It tells the story of Hanako, a geisha waiting for the return of her lover Yoshio, and explores the boundaries between dream and reality. The one-act opera will be presented as part of the Ja, Mai Festival of the Bayerische Staatsoper, directed by Belgian choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui in collaboration with artist Rirkrit Tiravanija, with musical direction by Lothar Koenigs and costumes by fashion designer Yuima Nakazato.

Serge Dorny, General Manager, Bayerische Staatsoper, said: "Opera, to use Richard Wagner's expression, is a total work of art (Gesamt­kunst­werk). This is why I am particularly pleased to be able to bring together the conductor Lothar Koenigs, the choreographer and director Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, fashion and costume designer Yuima Nakazato, and the great visual artist Rirkrit Tiravanija. His art fits the story of Hanjo perfectly. This new creation is a wonderful opportunity for a dialogue between a work, great artists, and the public. It also creates a beautiful and exciting liaison between Haus der Kunst and the Bayerische Staatsoper."

Rirkrit Tiravanija

Exhibition: 5 - 29 May 2023

Hanjo: 5, 8, 10, 12, 14 May 2023

Haus der Kunst, Prinzregentenstraße 1, 80538 Munich, Germany