Kunstprojekte_riem will present a children’s book by the Amsterdam-based artist Fortuyn/O’Brien in the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus on Friday, 19 December, at 7 pm – just in time for Christmas. In cooperation with the well-known Dutch writer K. Schippers, the artist has produced ‘Das Haus in den Wolken’ (The House in the Clouds) specially for kunstprojekte_riem, a project initiated by the City of Munich. The book, which revolves around the typical childhood dream of creating an individual domestic environment, is published by Revolver Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, and will be on sale in bookshops in December (Euro 19,-).
The book is based on the project ‘Dolls’ Housing’, which Fortuyn/O’Brien created for Messestadt in 2001. Commissioned by kunstprojekte_riem to address the domestic surroundings of people living in this new Munich suburb, she made seven wooden models (scale 1:12) based on the floor plans of various residential units in the area. In the summer of 2001 these doll’s-houses were decorated and furnished by children in the local kindergartens using felt, modelling clay, cloth and paint. The artist then transferred some of the children’s ideas to a real-life flat, carrying them out in the same materials to create a fascinating installation that was open to the public for a few weeks. The conception of the children’s book, and the images in it, derive from this work.

Press kits are available from:
kunstprojekte_riem
Claudia Büttner and Christina Kaufmann
Erika-Cremer-Strasse 3, 81829 Munich
tel. 0049 (0) 89–94379849, fax 0049 (0) 89–94379845
kunstprojekte.riem@ems.muenchen.de