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Katharina Fritsch: Rat-King

April 15, 1993–June 19, 1994, Dia Chelsea

Overview

Fueled by myth and informed by physicality, Rat-King took form as a larger-than-life installation of resin-cast rodents. Katharina Fritsch explored the power of image and allegory through the physical manifestation of a rat-king, a term in literature and folklore that references a group of rodents in a circular formation with tails centrally intertwined. Naturalistic detail was avoided to emphasize the archetypical qualities of the rodents. Their sheer size and matte-black color lifted them from the realm of the banal to the iconic, exacerbating qualities of fear and malice. Duplication and symmetry combined to create an unsettling viewing experience.

Artist

Katharina Fritsch

Katharina Fritsch was born in Essen, West Germany, in 1956. She lives and works in Düsseldorf.

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Books

Photo: Don Stahl

Katharina Fritsch: Rattenkönig (Rat-King)

This catalogue documents Katharina Fritsch's exhibition Rattenkoenig (Rat-King) at Dia, April 1993–June 1994.

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