the artist scent edition

Since a few years, artists have been dealing with scents and smells in different ways. They enrich their works and installations with smells, they disperse them into the museums’ air or bottle them directly as niche perfumes. Here a new context is about to arise between artists, works and viewers, a different game that eludes the classic means of reception. Odors are volatile and ephemeral, their effects come immediate, subtle and persuasive. They unfold olfactory traces of memories and deceive the analytical and distant eye of the beholder.

the artist scent edition takes up the new spread of smells in the art world as a phenomenon and focuses on the individual artistic approach to it and the various connotations that can raise between the artist’s work and a scent.

A comprehensive workshop process between the artist and perfumer confers to a conceptual base for fragrances that exclusively follow the artistic concept.The result is a unique perfume in the true sense of the word and conclusively, the artist's initials represent the name of the fragrance. The visual appearance of the package follows the artist's concept and completes the edition together with the olfactory work.

The first perfume released by the artist scent edition, is called RT and was developed in late summer 2020 by Rosemarie Trockel in collaboration with the perfumer, beautiful mind and artists friend Geza Schön. Release date will be early spring 2021. The intention is to realize two new artist scent editions a year, always limited to 500 numbered and boxed flacons.

But how is the odor of RT? Rosemarie Trockel simply says: “beguiling“. What does she associate with it? “A walk in the woods with animal crossing. A bush is a bear.” Terms such as forest, wood, moss, darkness, green leaves, blossoms and animal notes outline the complex nature of this work.

Sorry, there will be no testers. Our scents are not meant to perform as commercial products, but as experimental experiences between artists, perfumers and individuals. They, in turn, are invited to wear the scent without any hesitation, as with the edition they get the exclusive option to order further flacons – while stocks last.

Robert Müller-Grünow (RMG), owner of Scentcommunication and aerome, is a pioneer in the development of fragrance technologies and fragrances for brands, spaces and companies. In 2019 he told his friend Meyer Voggenreiter (MV) about the idea of developing scents with artists. RMG already designed fragrances for exhibitions as by Jeppe Hein, Tanja Bruguera, Pierre Huyghe or Tony Oursler. Now he wanted to give artists “carte blanche” for creating their very own olfactory work, which is not supposed to be used for rooms, but as a scent for people.

MV, designer and exhibition architect in the art and museum scene, runs a project space in Cologne and had just finished his exhibition series “piece*unique”, which focused on important single works by contemporary artists – also including an exhibition with Rosemarie Trockel, entitled “carte blanche”. The art and scent experience of MV is deeply connected to Marcel Duchamp and his perfume readymade Belle Haleine, Eau de Voilette. For it´s legendary presentation in Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin in 2011, he had the pleasure to design the exhibition display.

In the further exchange between both, the artist scent edition took shape as a joint and substantial project. A friend and creative partner of RMG, perfumer Geza Schön was invited to participate. Since he had launched his own label Escentric Molecules in 2005, he is considered as one of the most important contemporary perfumers. Geza and RMG already share a history of collaboration on innovative scent projects.

Later on a good artist friend of MV, filmmaker Marc Comes was invited to create moving images for each fragrance. By his own involvements with contemporary art he achieved a rich and sensitive knowledge of how to translate art projects into film.

Through all it's way, the artist scent edition is and remains a project between friends, linked by a shared interest in art and fragrances.

• concept: Robert Müller-Grünow,
  Meyer Voggenreiter
• producer: Robert Müller-Grünow
• perfumer: Geza Schön
• design: Meyer Voggenreiter
• film: Marc Comes
• sound: Carlo Heller
• website: Pascal Mager
• package: Buchbinderei Mensch
• photography: Simon Vogel

Our deepest thanks go to Rosemarie Trockel for her confidence and support, her enthusiasm, curiosity and patience. We also thank Curtis Anderson, Monika Sprüth, Philomene Magers, Stephanie Eckerskorn, the MD Bar and to all the friends and partners for their open ears and hearts and for their critics and support.