Lee Mingwei

The Villa Stuck Museum presents the exhibition Lee Mingwei: 禮 Li, Gifts and Rituals from May 13 to September 12, 2021. On view are installations and performances from the last 30 years, through which the artist puts rituals of giving and receiving presents at the center of attention, requiring the active involvement of the audience.
Lee Mingwei (*1964, Taichung, Taiwan, lives and works in Paris and New York), whose work is being presented in Munich for the first time in this exhibition, conceives art as an immaterial, transformative gift. For many of his projects the starting point are his personal encounters, which are then transformed into installations. Seeing such experiences as moments in which time is gifted, Lee's projects reveal a fascination for the role of the host. Accordingly, the artist put out open calls looking for Munich-based hosts to activate several of his projects.

In The Living Room hosts are invited to exhibit their unique collections and in The Mending Project the menders host conversations with visitors whilst repairing their damaged items of clothing. These processes create a common space where viewers are given the opportunity to enter into exchange, and rituals of care and healing begin to unfold.
Fabric of Memory shows selected textiles with memory potential. For the exhibition, people donate items of clothing they have come to love, which have enriched their lives emotionally and which thus tell stories. The textiles, with their immanent personal stories, give touching evidence of the fine network of interpersonal relationships and their powerful effect.
In Sonic Blossom, the visitor receives a Schubert song from an opera singer. Sitting on a wooden chair, one is overwhelmed by the power of music - and also by this intimate encounter in the middle of Franz von Stuck's historic music salon. The question one should ask himself in this situation is: How far can I get involved in this moment and open myself to this gift from the singer or the artist?