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Clemens Fürtler is an artist who caught my attention „at first sight“. As a critic and curator I am particularly cautious about evaluation of art that is initially attractive because it may prove, upon closer examination, to be kitsch. Clemens Fürtler is neither superficial, intentionally estheticized, nor strategic author. At first glance it might seem that his essential motivation could be a form of play, that he is an artist that elevates the visual effects of play to the area of visual art. But the opposite is true. Clemens Fürtler is not a player but a constructer. He uses slot racing and railways as pieces of building set from which he constructs new, in many cases absurd, almost utopic architectures. However neither the construction of new urban structures nor animation by light or movements of cars or trains is in the focus of his interest. His real goal is the viewer´s experience. Uninvolved, passer-by observer who is visually fascinated „at first sight“. Luminous cars driving in slot racing create light art performance, in which the shadows play paradoxically more important role than light itself. Although they can´t be stopped even for a moment, Clemens Fürtler fixes them with photographs and videos. From my point of view even though they do not achieve the theatrical experience of the object itself, they make an important effort to document fascinating originality of random emerging visual effects. In my opinion Clemens Fürtler is not just the painter, photographer, video, light, sound and installation artist but first of all the multimedia artist of architectural ability and theatrical ambitions. For the installation in Kunsthalle LAB, he adjusted its initial iteration from Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck so that it may function without complete darkness. The viewers have the opportunity to experience different impression through the day and at night, during which the spectacular visual show in Kunsthalle LAB revives.

Juraj Čarný

Exhibition curator