Marisa Merz

When looking at this drawing we are inevitably reminded of the numerous small modelled heads that are on display in the exhibition. Our eyes are drawn to the endless pencil lines drawn on the paper as much as to the face itself. Does the woman being portrayed have the horns of a ram? Her bearing and facial expression are reminiscent of a sphinx. In the second half of the 19^th century, such hybrid creatures were often depicted by representatives of Symbolism, whose works Marisa Merz was acquainted with.

These drawings with its fugitive, mutating figures were part of a group of works that were shown in 1982 in Kassel when Merz participated at documenta for the first time. Documenta remains one of the most important series of exhibitions in contemporary art.