Dieter Roth. Selbstturm, Löwenturm

A quarter of a century has passed since Dieter Roth (1930-1998) left behind a very special kind of legacy in his studio near the Rhine at the Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart with Selbstturm, Löwenturm (1969-1998). The towering twin towers made of stacked chocolate and sugar-cast busts were added to the collection of the Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation in 1989 as a 'work in progress'. Because the artist wanted to continue working on it, he moved the work into a space outside the museum, which he used as a studio, but which was also open to visitors. The space is still open to visitors. The monograph Dieter Roth. Selbstturm, Löwenturm honours one of the universal artist's key works. The visual concept for the photographic history was created by Peter Fischli. Dieter Roth himself documented the installation and his employees with countless photographs, including portraits of each individual cast figure. This has resulted in a treasure trove of photographs, Polaroids and video recordings. Roth's entire oeuvre is exuberant, consistent and organised. The radical decision to show each of the more than 800 pictures is therefore a tribute to the old master.