Die Parabel vom Wasserbecken is the title of an unfinished book project by the late Luxembourg artist Bert Theis from 1986, recently rediscovered in his archives and transformed into a publishing project.
Based on the text The Parable of the Water Tank by the American author Edward Bellamy (1816–1886), this series is a satire on capitalism taken from his utopian novel Equality (1897), which was a great success in militant socialist and anarchist circles in its time. Presented in an archive binder and organized into eleven chapters, the collages enter into dialogue with extracts from the text.
The book was produced by the Studio Paolo Nava, Milan on the occasion of the exhibition: Bert Theis: Pour une Philosophy Collagiste, March 29 – September 21 2025, curated by Marco Scotini and Charlotte Masse at Konschthal Esch and released in an edition of 100 numbered exemplars bearing the imprint of the Bert Theis Archive.
Conversation between Marco Scotini, curator of the exhibition Mariette Schiltz, president of the Bert Theis Archive and Enrico Lunghi former Mudam director
Introduction in French by Charlotte Masse co-curator of the exhibition
KONSCHTHAL Esch
6th July 2025, 4pm
29 Bd Prince Henri, 4280 Esch-sur-Alzette
With the support of FOCUNA, Fonds Culturel National Luxembourg