Michael Kleine’s interventions at the Museu Frederic Marès are carefully crafted from a selection of items taken from Marès’s collection, chosen regardless of their category, style, or origin. True to his usual approach, the artist offers a unique interpretation of these artistic and historical artefacts, while also transforming the architecture of the exhibition space and visitor pathways. Kleine’s work questions how objects are classified and displayed to the public, and second, how they are received. The artist believes both processes play an essential role in either restricting or revealing the objects’ dramaturgical qualities, which can ultimately amplify or diminish their original properties and energy.
In the artist’s own words, “I am interested in the energy of human labour and the craftsmanship that these objects embody. I like to think about this energy from a contemporary perspective, perhaps in order to blur the line between different models of perception applied to the same object, such as the perspective of contemporary art or the perspective of historical craftsmanship (…) I usually work in this way: I try to figure out what is possible from the point of view of the situation, because I know that these objects usually involve many restrictions and a series of safety and conservation conditions. Things that must be respected, and this is exactly what I want to do. In this sense my process moves forward in parallel with discovering what we can do with a particular object, how we can exhibit it.”
Through his interventions within both the Stone Sculpture section, or Cripta (Crypt), and Sala 14 (Room 14) of the Gabinet del col·leccionista, or the ‘Sentimental Museum’ as Marès called it, Michael Kleine challenges well-established norms that provide a conventional interpretative framework. In this process, the artist systematically neutralises traditional criteria relating to quality and expertise that typically inform assessments of artistic objects. By introducing his own artefacts alongside the Museum’s collection, Kleine broadens the interpretive context and sparks reflection on the value, functionality, and emotional significance of these works. Furthermore, Kleine alters the exhibition environment by adjusting elements such as lighting, sound, and other atmospheric factors. These modifications assume a compositional role, and, by diverging from standard conservation practices and neutral display design, draw attention to the opacity of the objects and the intrinsic qualities that transcend visual comprehension. Whereas viewers are customarily positioned before an object, Kleine orchestrates conditions to ensure that we instead stay with the object.
In doing so, the artist emphasises the importance of our physical presence, and perhaps for this very reason, in Espai 13 Sala 14 Cripta, time plays a crucial role. This is most evident in the extravagant timelines established by the artist, but also in the fact that in order to experience the project in its entirety, visitors must travel between two different city locations: Espai 13 in Montjuïc and the Museu Frederic Marès, in the Barri Gòtic. However, if we consider that Kleine treats the exhibition space in the same way as a stage, where everything seems to be set up to accommodate an event, it seems fair to consider time as just another working material—if not the main tool. Time is present in our expectation and anticipation – the possibility that something might happen – as we walk through the Museum’s rooms, and in the attention we pay to the environmental conditions and the contradictions and similarities between the gathered objects.