Marbod Fritsch - IN THE BUBBLE

Marbod Fritsch (born 1963 in Bregenz, Austria) lives and works in Bregenz and Vienna. In his sculptures, installations, and drawings, he explores the relationship between space, perception, and social structure. His works oscillate between physical precision and conceptual openness, addressing questions of balance, boundaries, and resonances. With IN THE BUBBLE, Marbod Fritsch draws on an experience he had in connection with his memorial project in Weingarten: The discussion surrounding the work for the 500th anniversary of the Weingarten Treaty revealed how differently social groups—historians, artists, the public—maintain their own systems of interpretation. It became clear how difficult an open dialogue about art has become today when perception increasingly occurs in separate "bubbles." This experience serves as the starting point for a new body of work in which Fritsch examines the form of the sphere as a spatial and conceptual structure. The sphere—physically considered a balance of internal pressure and external tension—becomes a model of social dynamics: closed, reflective, delineated from one another, yet in exchange. The central work of the exhibition, a sculpture made of painted steel, consists of connected spheres. Its reflective surface incorporates the surroundings into the work and illustrates that perception is always also self-perception. Every movement alters the relationship between the forms—much like in social processes, where contact always presupposes distance. In the accompanying drawings, the sphere appears as a circle, as a two-dimensional condensation. Lines, overlays, and shadows clarify that each form is a system of boundaries—a dynamic relationship between inside and outside, visible and hidden. "The debate surrounding the memorial has shown me how difficult it has become to read a work as an open offer. Everyone moves in their own bubble, with fixed meanings and expectations. IN THE BUBBLE is my attempt to make these structures visible—not as an accusation, but as an observation." (Marbod Fritsch). IN THE BUBBLE connects physical form with social experience. The exhibition addresses the relationship between closeness and delineation, resonance and misunderstanding—and questions whether the sphere or circle, as a symbol of perfection, today primarily describes the fragile balance of coexistence.