Resilience is a key concept of our era and is currently in vogue. Originating in materials science, the term refers to the ability of people, systems, and materials to absorb trauma or disruption without losing their characteristic functions, structures, or identity.

The resilient subject in neoliberal society asserts itself in a precarious and uncertain world. They know no surrender, relentlessly continuing—come what may—in the face of a permanent crisis horizon.

The tendency toward self-optimization in order to withstand circumstances is obvious. Comprehensive and accepting crisis competence replaces forms of active world-building, while ambitious and collective political action is lost in robust isolation. The resilient citizen is the fulfillment of a neoconservative dream.

Contemporary artists, through their progressive and at the same time precarious position within neoliberal structures, are among the first who must acquire self-preservation skills.

This inventory forms the framework of this exhibition. How can visual artists work and survive in a deficient system? What strategies are used? How do existential fear, failure, self-assertion, and resilience articulate themselves in material, process, language, and aesthetics?