Haim Steinbach - Objects for People

Haim Steinbach: Redefining the Art Object

Since his rise on the international art scene in the early 1980s, Haim Steinbach (born in 1944 in Israel, based in New York) has explored the ways objects are displayed and perceived within the art world. Using a variety of presentation formats – iconic wall-mounted shelves, display cases, partitions, and scaffolding structures – he removes objects from their everyday context to reveal their anthropological, ethnographic, and aesthetic significance.

His famous triangular laminate shelves, developed in 1984, feature an eclectic selection of commonplace items. By placing these objects in an art setting, Steinbach transforms them into carriers of collective memory and cultural identity.

A Visual Language Between Art and the Everyday

Unlike a pedestal, which elevates an object above others, the horizontal structure of the shelf places all objects on equal footing. This fosters a dialogue between popular culture and high art, allowing objects to take on poetic and allegorical dimensions.

Over the years, Steinbach has expanded his visual language to include elements from daily life and public spaces, such as:

• Wallpaper strips and Pantone color swatches
• Fragments of literary or commercial texts
• Everyday objects as "monuments" of past eras

A Dialogue with Belgian Collections

For this exhibition, Steinbach incorporates two significant projects developed with Belgian collectors:

• Display #31 – An Offering: Collectibles of Jan Hoet (1992)
• 3 (2000): Three chairs, three paint cans, and three brushes belonging to Herman Daled

These works highlight the intimate relationship between objects, their origins, and the narratives they carry.

Don't miss this captivating exhibition, where everyday objects are reimagined as powerful works of art.