Giulia Piscitelli (*1965) and Clemens von Wedemeyer (*1974) are linked by a political interest: their art is always to be understood in a social context. Both artists take a decided stand and address the theme of global movements of people, ideas and commodities in their work. Piscitelli’s objects and images, von Wedemeyer’s videos and artistic researches explore the mechanism of access to, and exclusion from society. They focus on themes such as memory and an aesthetic canon, but also on transformations of power and powerlessness in social structures.

Giulia Piscitelli takes her inspiration from everyday life in Naples, from materials and impressions gained by the roadside or at the market. Clemens von Wedemeyer adopts historical perspectives so as to reflect on the present. For the exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Luzern the artist uses Elias Canetti’s classic work Crowds and Power as a foil for exploring how the masses are controlled in our society. Nella società, in Gesellschaft is arranged as a loose dialogue between these two positions.