Monuments

Underdogs Gallery

Lisbon, Portugal

15 November – 28 Deember 2024

Monuments was the inaugural solo exhibition of Simon Berger in Portugal, paying tribute to some of the most prominent figures in modern and contemporary architecture. This new body of work is an homage to Berger's childhood dream of becoming an architect, and honours renowned architects such as Jean Nouvel, Peter Zumthor, Mies van der Rohe and Zaha Hadid, among many others. The exhibition explored architecture through the featured motifs and as well as through the material exploration that characterised the works. Apart from featuring Simon Berger’s iconic two-dimensional works made up of amalgamations of cracks in the glass,  for three new installations, Berger employed glass blocks as his medium of choice, evoking the frequent use of this material in 1980s Swiss architecture. Utilising a sandblaster as his primary tool, Berger meticulously carved the motifs into the glass bricks, creating a dynamic interplay of light and shadow. Berger's exploration of three-dimensionality, light and movement, along with his use of glass fracture, resulted in a dynamic exhibition that pays homage to these trailblazers in architecture and preserves their legacy, extending beyond the monumental structures they have left behind in their wake.