Exhibition catalogue for an exhibition, which took place at Sammlung Goetz, Munich from June 13 to November 4, 2000. With the exhibition Mike Kelley – Peter Fischli/David Weiss, Sammlung Goetz contrasted two artistic positions of a generation that addresses existential questions from very different perspectives. They give no answers but shake up views that have become taken for granted.

The Swiss artist duo Peter Fischli and David Weiss is known for its fragile experimental set-ups. Often with only minimal artistic intervention, the two use humour to convey a feeling of permanent uncertainty. Their international breakthrough came with their film ‘Der Lauf der Dinge’ (1986-87) (‘The Way Things Go’, translator’s note) that was presented at the documenta 8. Fischli and Weiss do not commit themselves to any particular interpretation of their works. Instead, they invite viewers to openly reflect upon the world.

Mike Kelley reveals the traumas of our affluent western society. His installations of used stuffed animals, such as ‘Citrus and White’ (1991), touch upon long forgotten childhood memories. Kelley comes from a working class family in the ‘motor-town’ of Detroit. Social repression, family conflicts and the flight into subcultures soon became issues for him. Although he is now one of the most influential artists in the US, he has always felt like an outsider.