Ornamental, July 2016, Berlin

Video filmed at the opening,

29th of July, Kunstquartier Bethanien, Berlin

Silvia Beck, Laurence Egloff, Marco Goldenstein, Elke Graalfs, Anett Lau, Peter Nansen Scherfig, Veronika Schumacher, Wolf von Waldow, Dana Widawski

The ornament is back, back as wallpapers in fancy lofts, as filigree blinds in architecture and also back in the discourse of contemporary art. In the current art-production, two relations are particularly obvious: 1. Working with ornaments in their baroque function as space structuring elements relating architecture and art/design. 2.The deconstruction of ornamental structures that are looked upon as symbolic for opressive systems. In-between these formal and contentual, associative reference points – and beyond – there are  almost endless possibilities to access „The Ornament“ and its long history. For thousands of years, ornaments were defining the appearence and the spiritual message of buildings and objects of everyday and ritual use. They integrated the progress of philosophical, religious and geometrical-mathematical thinking into more and more complex structures and gave them visual presence. The formal means of rhythmics and recursion – used since the Stone Age – establish a connection of being human – pulse, birth, death – and cosmic processes. In the 20th century, the concept of structuring surfaces and intertwining them with ordinal systems finds a new surface in the observation of  corporative production and organisation.The ornament is less regarded as communicating stability and knowledge, but as a form incorporating force and power. Nowadays the ordinal system „Ornament“, formally and motivicly fractionalized, becomes the stage for the clash of systemic and individualistic thinking. Adopting the transcending concept of the ornament, while simultaneously transforming it subjectively, contemporary artists reestablish the ornament as an unconcerned, descretionary media. A media that makes it possible to connect images and tokens in new ways and structure walls and spaces. raumansicht1 Silvia Beck, Veronika Schumacher, Wolf von Waldow raum_elk_dan_mar-blog Dana Widawski, Elke Graalfs, Marco Goldenstein peter_dana_blog Peter Nansen Scherfig, Dana Widawski

Silvia Beck

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Dicionário de Dúvida, 2015 HD-video / screen, 02.32‘ Edition 1 + 3 by courtesy of Hafemann Internatiional

Laurence Egloff

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Wiederholen ist gestohlen, 2016  312 x 280 cm each by courtesy of  Galerie Schwarz Contemporary

Marco Goldenstein
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Das ist die Wahrheit, 2014 -16 drawings on paper
Elke Graalfs
elke graalfsNr. 1, 2000, acrylic on canvas, 120 x 240 cm, Nr. 2 Perlmutt, 2000, acrylic on canvas, 120 x 150 cm
elke graalfs»Gekreuch«, 2014, Collage on wallpaper, 150 cm x 140cm

 Anett Lau

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constructio, 2016, stencil print on wallpaper, Installation, 3 x 3 m

Peter Nansen Scherfig
peter nansen scherfig
Asseln, 2016, 9 prints on paper,  80 x 80 cm each
Veronika Schumacher
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construction is bliss, 2016, mural
Wolf von Waldow
wolf_blog1Völkerkunde, 2008, Giclé, refugee camp, 2010, digital print
Dana Widawski
       dana_marcoGeh doch, 2016, tile-painting, 31,5 x 318,5 cm, Marco Goldenstein on the right
danaSelf Made, Putin mit seinem Beichtvater, Kill Animals, Diebische Elster,
all works 2008/9, stencil prints, 280 x 90 x 5 cm, acrylic on canvas,
Photographies by Michael Jungblut, Veronika Schumacher and Dana Widawski
Many thanks to Frank Benno Junghanns and Wolfgang Siano
LInks:

True Mirror, April 2016, Paris

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On the 8th of April 2016, an extraordinary art event, True Mirror, takes place in Paris. The event is collectively organised by artists Laurence Egloff, Alexine Chanel, Alexandra Noat, Raphaël Renaud, Katharina Ziemke, Damien Cadiot as well as Mickaël Faure,curator and director of Versailles Art School. The whole group appeared as a snowball. An artist invited another one to contribute his or her work to the group collection. Altogether, a group of 58 artists from all over the world who were going to participate in the event was created.
The 58 works were shown to the artists so that each of them could choose one and then copy it. The choice of the medium was free, yet the initial format had to be followed.
The works that were copied, interpreted, and reflected on were presented to the artists without giving away the identity of the works. No information about the artists’ creative and academic background was revealed either. The works were completely decontextualised.
The related images were hung on the longitudinal walls one in front of the other in a symmetrical way in the exhibition hall.

That creates an effect of a mirror, but not in its physically reflecting sense.

2500 years ago, the Etruscans perceived the mirror as an instrument of philosophical and religious cognition of the unknown world whose phenomena they might not always explain. They regarded it namely as a gate to the unknown universe, so they engraved mythological scenes on the bronze surface placing them in an intricate order, which showed how fascinatingly impressive natural phenomena and they themselves were as perceived through the spiritual prism of their own eyes. Hence, the mirror was regarded as a mystical dimension in those days.
Since the Renaissance, the perception of physical phenomena has changed. Due to scientific progress mirrors started to be seen merely as optical instruments. Within the context of that period in the history of arts, as the human being started to be perceived as the centre of science and many of the secrets about the world were unveiled, the mirror was more and more often perceived as a scientific device.
As experiments with mirrors continued, Claude Lorrain (1600 – 1682) developed a mirror which was slightly convex. That mirror helped him to create his idealistic landscapes. Subsequently, at the height of the Enlightenment, it became popular with aristocracy who roamed around the outskirts of their estates in search of picturesque views.

Returning to our exhibition, through the opposition between the original and the copy, True Mirror, exposes another vision of the world, creates another kind of mirror by contrasting the Etruscan mirror conception with the materialistapproach that coincide in form of quotation-based and, consequently, epistemological postmodern culture.

Even a copy, being close to the original in terms of the structure and material, needs a soul and physical acquisition, a spiritual flow of an artist who produces the copy. Consequently, the works copied by the artists appeared to the surface of the world as a form of its contemplation and search of forms depicting its reality perceived subjectively.

True Mirror reflects the reflection of the reflection.

The surfaces are the horizons of soul penetration and the formal realisation. The visitor travels from wall to wall between the horizons.
Through the effect of doubling creative processes while determining the image, the work is transformed into another one of a similar type. That makes the visitor experience the complexity and diversity of the artist’s creativity and impressions.

The Etruscan mirrors of our age are particle accelerators and space-telescopes. The reflections appearing there reproduce the empirical knowledge about the unexplained as yet physical space.

The exhibition True Mirror reveals epistemological possibilities and borders through the reflection in imagination.

Jörg Hasheider, english translation: Cyril Gulevsky-Obolonski

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opening

Monika Goetz, Original

Monika Goetz, Original

Jörg Hasheider, Copy

Jörg Hasheider, Copy

Inken Reinert, Orignal

Inken Reinert, Orignal

Alexine Chanel, Copy

Alexine Chanel, Copy

 

 

paper icons, the big size version

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Now for the third time we showcased the „paper icons“ exhibition. All informations are already available on this blog. Please scroll down for „paper icons, the dark matter version“ at Studio Haus am Lützowplatz and further on to „paper icons“ the studio exhibition.

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At the opening, Weltaustellung was performing a great electro-accoustic set:

Copyright of photograhies by Norman Schupp
The exhibition was supported by Kulturamt der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf and
HPZ-Stiftung

G.A.R.D.E.N

Street Kabinett, Berlin, October 2015

 

The starting point for „G.A.R.D.E.N“ is the observation of the different features of indoor gardening and gardening in its old meaning. The old meaning of gardening is the recreation of the primordial garden, the „Garden of Eden“, as a sheltered space of harmony and peace. However, it is not clear where indoor gardening is heading,
The reason, why we have lost paradise, being expelled from „Garden of Eden“, is the birth of conscience, the perception of a difference between „I“ and „It“, which led to naming „It“ – adam, eve, tree, snake a.s.o. -.This process of naming has never stopped and it will not stop until – following Vilem Flusser – we name everything: when the world gets cold and a new cycle starts.

Based on this narration the work deals with the problem of naming itself – the gap between signifier and the signified, codes – how to read the names when you cannot decipher the code they are written in, and the problem that we are sometimes confusing „It“ and its names.
And all in all it is an indoor gardened symbol for paradise lost.

Many thanks to Ronit and Matteo for filming and editing!

Street Kabinett is a non-profit space for experiments between site-specific installation and performance run by Opay L Goldberg, Sva Levy and Elisa Rusca.

Supported by: Linnen Berlin Bed & Breakfast

identities, investigating life and data

Altes Spital, Arnstadt, October 2015

Some impressions of the second „Identities“ exhibition. It comprised the same artists as the earlier show at „Pavillon am Milchhof“, but it showcased additional works of Alexine Chanel, Viola Kamp and myself. For further informations, please scroll down and have a look at the exhibition at Milchhof, April 2015. A documentation of Alexine Chanels new work you find here: the calling

Chanel, Reves Hasheider, Awst&Walther, Reves id.arnstd_2 Photographies by Alexine Chanel Thanks to Christian, Andreas, Albrecht, Konstanze, Constance, Holger and all the voluntary helpers. The exhibition was supported by: Wappen_IK_blogIlm-Kreis and logo _spar_blog

paper icons, position 2: the dark matter version

Studio Haus am Lützowplatz June, July, August 2015

Ruprecht Dreher, Peter Freitag, Nicholas Kashian, HC Petersen, Oliver Ross, Marco P Schäfer

The exhibition „Paper Icons“ convenes six artists working within the material of paper under the theme „The Icon“.
 Within the pieces in this exhibition, there are two distinct approaches : Firstly, the re-combination or subsequent eradication of iconic signifiers using found materials. Secondly, the construction of signs with an iconic appeal using blank material. Both approaches work with the deconstruction of the icon as a common signifier and the disengagement from its use as a guided association.
 A disengagement that gives the recipient a heightened awareness of the allover iconic imprint of our society of the „Iconic Turn“ by opening up new spaces of association. (Introduction see below)

Ruprecht Dreher, Peter Freitag Dreher, Freitag

Oliver Ross, Marco P Schäfer Schäfer

H C Petersen Petersen

Nicholas Kashian Kashian

INTRODUCTION Dark Matter, the known unknown. An encompassing, unknown structure in which the known is sporadically flashing like peripheraly-filed engrams. Dark Matter constitutes 84.5 % of the materia of the univers and it eludes our perception. The visible materia that is fundamental for our perception is formed by hypothetic forces. With the iconisation of public space by „architectural icons“ and advertisments, the meaning and form building forces of social functions and social discourse fade into the background. An orientation towards form and a turning away from shaping shows up. The outstanding is not outstanding in its function anymore, but in its form–its symbolism.The world that occurs is imprinted by marketing and capital interests. It should be mentioned that art is part of semiocapitalistic industries. Signature pieces in signature rooms are standards in art marketing. The exhibiting artists use products of semiocapitalism as basic material for their deconstructions. Magazinpages, advertisements, porn, posters, quickly consumed iconic content on ephemeral material. The artists erase, cut out, recombine and displace both formally and contentwise. Porn without sex, adds without products, polaroids without photos. Icons become patterns and patterns become icons. The signature piece steps back behind the method of making the not seen, the ephemeral and accidental visible. Structures and patterns behind the icons, the message, emerge and open spaces of perception and free association.

Thanks to Galerie Kuhn & Partner for support!

identities – investigating life and data

 

the pavillon

Pavillon am Milchhof, April 2016

The exhibition showcases the works of Awst & Walther, Alexine Chanel,
Jörg Hasheider, Viola Kamp and Daphna Reves. Media are (video)installation, painting and photography.
The mutual aspect of the works is their occupation with the perception of individuals and the change of individual perception in a surrounding that is determined by digital data flows – a discursive and poetic self-assertion of uniqueness in the days of
data-mining and self-optimization.

introduction

With  the still rapidly growing possibility of capturing and analysing huge amounts of data and the growing availability of data from on-line trading and on-line
communication, the providers of services and producers of goods obtain insight into the individual behaviour of consumers. These consumers are subsumed into relevant or
non-relevant groups and recieve specially created or modified offers.
Aside from commercial aspects, the surveilance of citizens by state-run agencies was
largely discussed in the context of the information revealed by Edward Snowden.

Questions occuring in this context are:

— what remains of our ideas of individual freedom and uniqueness being subjected to
those processes?
— what is the methodology behind the subsumption of individuals in groups of specified
consumers or suspects and how is it influencing our lifes?
— are the binary codes, that push these processes, the base of a standardized and
codified perception of „world“?

In this discursive context the artists present works, that:

— grasp individual aspects and keep them autonomous,
— show the complexity of everyday life inter-actions,
— confront the uniqueness of individuals with their standardization and codification.

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All rights by the artists, except „Biometric Painting“ by Awst & Walter and PSM Galerie.
Photographies of the exhibition by Alexine Chanel

Thanks to Markus, Heike, Hartmut and Frank Benno!

Supported by: Kunsthochschule Weißensee, Milchhof e. V. and PSM Galerie.

PARROTS

ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF IMPOSSIBLE LOVE

sound/wall installation

cans, acrylic, piezos, mp3-players, amps

parrots


I think the intention of the piece is described with the title. Formally the installation is based on the complementary colors blue and orange and the interfering sounds of 2 tibetan sound bowls. The interferences unite the colors and sounds on a kind of meta-level, creating a playful vision of coming together.
The lower „couples“ sound simultaneously, the upper one echoes a bit later.

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canned

sound/wall installation
can, acrylic, piezo, amp, mp3-player canned 0 The work is inspired by an incident that happened in Cartagena, Columbia, quite a long time ago. Two „police officers“ grabed me on the street and pushed me into a cell. It was pitch-black and contained absolutely nothing – not even a basket to pee in -. The intention of the „officers“ was to scare me shitless and then get some money. Besides me, there was an other, columbian, guy in this jail – obviously for a longer time -, who needed to talk. What he said is, more or less, the text of the poor creature, that is captured in the can. I saw the sunlight again the next day – they liked my fancy german pocket-knife -. The piece is dedicated to all people who are locked-up in dark cells.

 

canned

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