im Goldhaus
On 28th September, de Waal unveiled a new installation made especially for the Porzellansammlung of the SKD Museums in Dresden.
im Goldhaus (2019) was commissioned by the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD) for their permanent collection to mark 300 years since the death of the German alchemist, Johann Friedrich Böttger.
Titled after the laboratory of Augustus II the Strong, the Goldhaus am Zwinger was a place of alchemy; a testing-ground for research into minerals and ores, where Böttger and E. W. von Tschirnhaus conducted their experiments leading to the invention of European porcelain. ‘I have an image of a laboratory bench in the Goldhaus,’ de Waal writes, 'a place of enquiry and possibility... It is a vitrine which allows me to think through philosophy, optics, burnished mirrors, white porcelain, honed marble, gold and light…a floating installation through which you can see through towards Böttger or the menagerie or a Meissen dinner service. It is a sculpture of beginnings.'
im Goldhaus will be on display in the Porzellansammlung until Jan 2020 when it will be relocated elsewhere in the SKD museums.