‘Please Mind Your Head’ could be the friendliest of the reminders – an invitation to look where you normally wouldn’t and take care of one of the most treasured part of your body while walking across whatever stands in front of you. But, in a linguistic flick of the switch, it could also be a hefty warning about your mental condition, an imploration to carefully evaluate what your brain might suggest, as the millions of thoughts running through your head have the potential ramification of empowering perception as well as clouding judgement.
(c) Michele Robecchi
Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill proudly announces the exhibition of “MARTIN KRENN: World´s End” in the gallery´s premises in Graz from January 12th to March 16th 2013.
The photo exhibition “World´s End” focuses on a small Northern Irish village that is located within a typical Irish landscape setting off the rocky coast. The only difference from this idyllic picture is that the coastal area surrounding the village is a restricted area, and is occupied for more than 100 years by a British military base. Aerial and satelite photography is therefore prohibited. On internet services like Google Maps, the entire area and the village are nowhere to be seen. But the artist Martin Krenn was able to obtain a permit for his photographs of the site and buildings from the military base of the British army.
The artist who lives in Belfast and Vienna engages in his work on the interaction between historical and political phenomena and their documentation. He is particularly interested in the relationship between text and image, where historical events are retold through available documentation. Through the use of images the story of history is not only illustrated but interpreted and restaged. The pictures that are then reproduced are accompanied by a shift in importance.
Eight large photographs determine the underlying issue of the exhibit. At first glance, they are innocuous photographs of landscapes and interiors. The caption of the photographs refer equally to the subject as well as the geographical and historical context, without referencing the work to certain scenes or historical events. Such as, the image of a distinctly covered coffee table is next to the painting of a modern battlefield. Likewise from a distance, a seal colony is observed hanging nearly invisible in the dense undergrowth just next to the uniformed soldiers. What they have altogether is a contradictory place, an apt metaphor to the title of “World´s End”.
The eponymous film shows images of the military base, the surrounding countryside, and the village. These are underpinned by a narrative that summarizes Krenn‘s talks with the protagonists of the film. As with the photographs as in the film, the laws of the documentary are undermined deliberately by both the place‘s names that remain anonymous, and the identities of the people that are kept vague.
Due especially to the distance of the work from the genre of documentary, the exhibition shows that the history of a place is always composed of many overlapping stories. Martin Krenn adds them without any special weight, even including his personal history. The work therefore dissolves the boundary between fiction and reality, while evading a clear allocation. With regards to the facts of his painstaking research, he developed a method that allows him to approach the contentious history of this place of interest, without losing sight of its complexity and contradictions aside.
Art Stage Singapore
24-27 January 2013
Marina Bay Sands
with Poklong Anading,Yason Banal, Lena Cobangbang, Gaston Damag, David Griggs, Sofia Goscinski, Martin Krenn and Manuel Ocampo
Booth Number D3-02
Poklong ANADING | pocket coffin
Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill proudly announces the exhibition of POKLONG ANADING: pocket coffin in the gallery's premises in Graz, Austria from October 31st, 2012 to January 5th, 2013.
Poklong Anading was once described as "an alchemist of the ordinary" and I have not found a better term so far. A respective body of works of his relies on the discarded, unwanted object or - in a more human reference - on the irrational, from force of circumstances or inconsiderate behaviour.
What he does is telling stories or - maybe more correct - conducting those within the field of media that is offered to a conceptual artist in this era; material and technique compliments sound and image and not at the least the recipient or participant, respectively is incorporated in the concept. Following the invitation to participate - and even if it is by observation only - leads to notional world without gravity, without borders.
It is not about to define the function of art but art as social media provides the POSSIBILITY to portray unconventional COHESIONS and to create utopias, not necessarily based on scientific backgrounds but on personal observation or fiction. I might claim that (the majority of) contemporary artists express contemporary issues.
In the case of Poklong Anading the contemporary is linked to the myths of the past and to the socio-political context of his geographical origin Southeast Asia. Leaving the classification of his artistic practise to the next generation of classifiers there is no more to say than that he works in a neo-conceptual tradition. Anading translates his methods and applies his concepts to his actual place of residence. This implements a heavy travelling that is as well anchored in the collective history of his home country. Therefore work series are often connected to (various) places and (limited) time. They may be continued for years with re-appearing images or sequences, ie Anonymity, Between Intersections.
A lateral entry to Anading's work is unavoidable since the transition between one work, the previous and the fore coming is fluid. Though every story is self-contained it seems to be a chapter of a book. Each work evolves from the previous, enriched with new impulses and although the physical appearance of Anading's artistic expressions vary remarkably in media, size and material the main thread jells clearly within the closer examination of the work.
Going back to the TRAVELLING there is not only a visual impact on memory but as much the presence of sound calls for attention. Interactions with people (i.e. Anonymity, untitled (dwelling)) as well as sound itself or the incorporation of the abstracted sonance (i.e. linedrawing, monster race, - - - - - - - -, dragon kite) have ever since been an important element in Poklong Anading's concepts. Again it is the ordinary that catches the artist's attention, that is collected, abstracted, anthromorphised.
Anading's show title "pocket coffin" might be as unsubstantial as meaningful - through the viewers associations with the visible in the exhibition. The artist's call for exploring the exhibition starts with the title - no guidance, no rules, no overpowering, no definition, no intimidation, no solution.
Poklong Anading introduces four new works reflecting on home, exploring and finding, operating systems and the puzzlement of information and filtering, desire and fulfilment.
As much as the artist challenged us to participate, to understand, to open up, to accept and observe we invite you to experience. Poklong Anading expected us to act as a neutral spot, with zero gravity, providing space to any philosophical examination.
We, GZK, might propose to you to take the invitation for participation literally.
Art Toronto
26th to 29th of October 2012
with works by Poklong Anading
Jayson OLIVERIA: overlooking
Eröffnung:
15. September 2012, 11.00 bis 15.00 Uhr, der Künstler ist anwesend
Ausstellungsdauer:
18. September bis 20. Oktober 2012
Dienstag bis Freitag, 10.00 bis 18.00 Uhr, Samstag, 10.00 bis 13.00 Uhr
Wir freuen uns, die zweite Soloausstellung von Jayson Oliveria in Österreich präsentieren zu können. Zu sehen sind nicht nur Werke, die während seiner Residency im Frühjahr 2012 in Graz entstanden sind, sondern auch Gemälde aus seiner Heimat Manila.
Die Ausstellung widmet sich Oliverias Ölgemälden, welche die psychische Anstrengung hinter dem Dasein dieses Künstlers veranschaulichen. Oliverias Ausdrucksweise ist ebenso vielschichtig wie die Gedankengänge eines Menschen: auf den ersten Blick überlagert und verschwommen und erst bei näherer Betrachtung entschlüsselbar. Die Referenzen für seine Werke finden sich nicht nur im Geiste. Ebenfalls die moderne Medienwelt und Künstlerkollegen eröffnen Oliveria immer neue Wege um sich mit malerischen Mitteln Ausdruck zu verleihen.
Viennafair 2012
Represented Artists:
Lena Cobangbang, Sofia Goscinski, Isa Rosenberger, Gabriele Sturm, MM Yu,
Otto Muehl, Jayson Oliveria
Standnummer D21 & D23
Gerado Tan:
Sight Unseen
Opening:
July 28th 2012, 11am to 3pm
the artist will be present
Exhibition data:
July 31st 2011 to September 1st 2012
Tuesday to Friday, 2 pm to 6 pm; Saturday, 10 am to 1 pm
TRANSFER
Graz - Papua Neuguinea
A project by Gabriele Sturm in cooperation with IZK Institute for Contemporary Art of TU Graz, which begins on Monday July 2nd. The Opening of the exhibition is on Friday 6th of July.
Work in progress till September 30th!
IZK
http://izk.tugraz.at/izk/index.php?idcat=79
(c) IZK
VOLTA 8 Basel
Dreispitzhalle, Tor 13
Helsinki Straße 5
CH 4142 Münchenstein/Basel
STAND B18
Represented Artists:
Poklong Anading
Lena Cobangbang
Jayson Oliveria
Lena COBANGBANG
Raping the Muse
Exhibition data:
May 5th to June 23rd 2012
Sofia Goscinski
Rainbow Country
Exhibition data
May 5th to June 23rd 2012
Art Paris Fair
Represented Artist: Otto Muehl
Exhibition: Thursday, March 29 - Sunday, April 1, 2012
Webseite: http://www.artparis.fr
David Griggs:
Privation under the Palms
Exhibition data:
March 19th to April 28th
Monday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm; Saturday, 10 am to 1 pm
The work of David Griggs is aligned according to a particular terrain that surrounds him, reflecting certain modes of resistance within the riot that is the contemporary world. A convolution of dichotomies - reality vs. fiction, history vs. utopia, autonomy and affiliation - are superimposed and assembled in the crossovers among painting, photography and video.
Grounded on an intense interest in allegory and stereotypes Griggs' general attraction towards the darker side of life informs his work and consequently, his practice demonstrates an honest commentary on social phenomena that is both sardonic and humorous. What the artist manages to capture is the more esoteric part of daily life and the improvisations necessary to enhance the personal and communal situation. Griggs' artistic language processes the visualisation of activator as well as the cause and effect of human behavior that construct certain social structures.
In "Privation Under the Palms", David Griggs presents three new video works - "Banditti", "Our Motto Apocalypse Now" and "The Sunset Set". These works depart from the artist's former videos. Instead, they carry cinematic characters in terms of narrative and presentation. Griggs acts within a net of filmic references as he create scenes that traverse the fine line between myth and reality.
In "Banditti", he portrays particular effects of colonization in the form of a single character. He operates on the perspective of the alien in the act of abandoning visions and dreams and eventually falling into a corollary resignation.
On an improvised stage in Griggs' "Our Motto Apocalypse Now", heirs of Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" improvises the monologue delivered by the enlightened character played by Dennis Hopper.
Broaching the subject of the artist's role as an observer, he mirrors his surroundings and translates issues through artistic devices in "The Sunset Set" where he physically positions himself in the city he lives and works in.
"Privation under the Palms" is David Griggs' first solo exhibition in Europe and Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill. Griggs was born in 1975 in Sydney, Australia and migrated to the Philippines in 2005. He has been exhibited extensively in Australia and joined several international groupshows. Works of the artist have first been shown in Austria in the inaugurational show "Inversion of the Ideal" in Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill in 2011.
David Griggs currently lives and works in Manila, Philippines.
VOLTA NY - New York
Represendet Artist: Martin Krenn
Exhibition: Thursday, March 8 – Sunday, March 11, 2012
Website: http://www.voltashow.com
MARTIN KRENN
In my art I occupy myself with sociopolitical themes. In doing so I work with various type of media, mainly photography and video. The majority are series of photographs or short films, which sometimes complement each other. Projects are realised in exhibitions as well as in public spaces.
My key area of interest lies in the strained relationships between art and society. How does art intervene with societal processes? How through art can one question the balance of power and bring forth new experiences? What importance does society attach to actual art? In the past 10-15 years there has been a re-politicization in the art world. This process is accompanied by various definitions of “political art” and complicates the verification of the true effect. Though, the belief that art should be a display a beauty is disappearing more and more from society.
In all of my videos and series of photographs I work with a photographic approach, which documents things, spaces, and events, and simultaneously take a critical view of their claims of truth. Most pictures are not merely influenced by my point of view as a photographer. They are influenced by different external factors that impact composition and artwork. That means behind the picture could be a participatory project, re-photographed scenes from existing publications, or even the location where a feature film was filmed. In my work, formal aspects are of equal importance to the contents of debate.
I think that art offers wonderful opportunities to explore truth. I find the possibility of successfully expanding the field of art fascinating when art can initiate discussion and challenge conventional thinking, thereby having an influence on the balance of power and even occasionally shaping reality. In this case, the aesthetic has a central role.
Martin Krenn
(translated by Fraser Bliss)
Manuel Ocampo:
The Ghost Poop of Painting
Opening:
November 19th 2011, 11am to 3pm
the artist will be present
Exhibition data:
November 21st 2011 to Janurary 7th 2012
Monday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm; Saturday, 10 am to 1 pm
Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill proudly presents MANUEL OCAMPO:
The Ghost Poop of Painting, a major show of painting from
November 19th 2011 to January 7th 2012.
With this exhibition Manuel Ocampos works will be shown for the first time
in Austria.
Originally from the Philippines Ocampo is already very well known in Asia
and America. But also in Europe he plays an important role in the art scene.
He was invited to Dokumenta IX in Kassel in 1992 an two times to the
Venice Biennale.
Ocampo’s early work occasionally crossed towards that ignominious shore of
history relating to the (post) colonial. And the quality of those works possesses
the veneer of social critique, which becomes another way of retelling history
through the Other’s gaze.
Accordingly, it felt like judgment day every time you see those powerful
remastering of classical art that would make every sinner penitent.
The theme that comes up again and again are figures that connect to a
sort of myth induced stereotype rendered iconic but are bludgeoned into a
farcical conceptual iconoclasm rendered absurd by its exaggerated impotence
as carriers of meaning or the esthetics of politics. The paintings are a
comment on desire as painting itself is an object accustomed to this wish of
being desirous yet in the series they have a knack of providing some difficulty
to the viewer as the conventions of painting are dismantled to the point of ridicule.
Art Stage Singapore
12-15 January 2012
Marina Bay Sands
with Poklong Anading, Gaston Damag and Manuel Ocampo
Booth Numbers B2-04 and C5-03
steirischer herbst 2011
Second world
herbst-exhibition
23/09 - 16/10
c/o Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill (Openring 7, 8010 Graz) & Festivaldistrict
Mon - Fri 12 noon - 8 pm
Sat & Sun 10.30 am - 8 pm
with Jumana Emil Abboud (PS), Yael Bartana (IL), Nemanja Cvijanović (HR/I), Marcelo Expósito & Verónica Iglesia (E/ARG), Decolonizing Architecture Art Residency / DAAR (PS), Ruben Grigorian (ARM), Bouchra Khalili (F/MA), Daniel Knorr (D/RO), Tom Nicholson (AUS), Maha Maamoun (EG), Mona Marzouk (EG), Chan-Kyong Park (ROK), Lala Raščić (HR/USA), Marko Tadić (HR)
curated by What, How & for Whom / WHW (HR)
Second Worlds: in which the past had different
consequences and the future does not depend on the
present. Parallel worlds, possible worlds, impossible
worlds, ideal worlds. Worlds apart, worlds connected. The
programme invokes the unrealised possibilities haunting
our present day, as well as the realistic dangers that
could wipe out any conceivable future.
The notion of another world has become largely
apocalyptic – a world in the wake of an unimaginable
natural disaster, for example, or a human-induced
self-destruction with capital as the sole survivor. The
geopolitical construction of a second world from the
Cold War era, that for decades euphemistically sought
to conceal the dark chasm between the First and Third
Worlds with the illusion of progress that would, sooner
or later, embrace all people, has gone out of fashion. But
the inequalities and divisions that it manifested have
continued to grow. Only the ideology of economic growth
has superseded that of progress.
This year’s herbst exhibition – conceived by the Croatian
curator collective WHW, who were, amongst other things,
responsible for the Istanbul Biennial 2009 – uses the
potential of possible and impossible second worlds as a
projection surface for an imaginary and political change
of perspective – but still firmly rooted in the geopolitical
reality of our time.
Hermann Nitsch
das sein
Opening:
July 14th 2011, 6 to 10 pm
the artist will be present
opening remarks:
Günter Brus
Exhibition data:
July 15th to September 1st 2011
Tuesday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm; Saturday, 10 am to 3 pm
VOLTA7 - Basel
Represendet Artist: Poklong Anading
Booth number: B10
Exhibition: Monday, June 13 – Saturday, June 18, 2011
Website: http://www.voltashow.com
POKLONG ANADING
“My practice is the act of accumulation as a meditative process in pursuing an idea
of mishap for the critique of myself in a subjective relation to my environment.”
We can say that Poklong Anading is an alchemist of the ordinary. And yet it would
be more precise to call him a meta-alchemist, for his work, while surprising and
pleasing us, makes us keenly aware of the impossibility of true transcendence or
transformation of matter without remainder. In Without With, for example, dreamedof
gold is only spray-painted and is meant to flake off, turning back to dust. In Anonymity,
light itself – that symbol of immateriality – becomes the mark of erasure, the
opaque light of the negative.
The artist’s choice of materials – the accidental (folds, creases, cutouts), and the
discarded (human fat, plastic bags) – places an emphasis on the by-product, exposing
our very condition: In our world, the forward march of Capital tends to no real
end-product in the first place. Everything becomes a by-product as the doctrine of
built-in obsolescence and innovation conceives of every commodity as a disposable
good. The end-product is but a mirage wavering at the horizon of the production
line. The plastic shopping bags – those flags blowing in the wind of consumerism –
are emblematic of this realization.
These portraits and the pictures of Anonymity foreground these and other questions
of subjectivity under the plastic shroud and the hard light of Capital. These portraits
are mirror images of each other, punctuating the exhibit. They express the defining
conundrum of our times. The question they ask is this: How do you face the problem
if the problem is your face?
By Jose Perez Beduya
MM YU
inventory
Opening:
May 27th 2011, 6 to 10 pm
the artist will be present
opening remarks:
Dr. Iris Stöckl
Exhibition data:
May 28th to July 2nd 2011
Monday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm; Saturday, 10 am to 3 pm
In her exhibition “inventory” MM Yu presents new photographs and paintings.
Yu is interested in the actuality of her surrounding and preserves it photographically. By means of mundane images of Manila she documents life on
the threshold to globalization creating impressions that operate like stages, in terms of conception and colour.
An installation with 12 iPads arranged like a window is one of the main works in the exhibition. The viewer is invited to interact directly with her work.
Yu puts the terms postmodern computer- and media-culture to discussion. With her paintings MM Yu ties up to the abstract expressionism of the 1940’s
and 50’s. Yu’s drip paintings appear like documents of a coincidental clash of colour and canvas and somehow like side products of her work. The drip
paintings serve as base for video works and consistently occur, partly in different forms, in Yu’s photographs.
MM Yu works in photography, video and painting. Her work is conceptual, project based and affected by autobiographic influences.“inventory” in
Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill is the first solo exhibition of MM Yu in Europe.
Herbert Soltys
1956 geboren in Graz, lebt und arbeitet in Graz | 1956 born in Graz, lives and works in Graz
In der Ausstellung “The Sound of Music” zeigt Herbert Soltys aktuelle Arbeiten zum Thema.
Als langfristiges Projekt angelegt, versteht sich die Ausstellung als Auftakt einer mehrjährigen Auseinandersetzung des Künstlers mit den Begriffen
Heimat und Fremde. Anhand des Beispiels des Musicals “The Sound of Music”, eine der erfolgreichsten Produktionen der Filmgeschichte, mit der
9köpfigen Trapp Familie als Hauptfiguren, geht Soltys der Fremdinterpretationen traditioneller österreichischer Werte und Lebensweisen nach.
Er konzipiert begehbare Rauminstallationen, die den Besucher mit Geschichtsbildern konfrontieren. Heimat bezogene Motive, in schwarz-weiß gehalten,
verweisen auf den eigenen Umgang mit Geschichte. In einer Bild-Ton-Installation dienen Cut-outs der Trapps, vor blauen Bergketten, als filmische
Projektionsflächen. Soltys bezieht sich in seiner Arbeit auf unterschiedliche Medien: Er greift auf klischeehafte Bilder der Österreich Werbung zurück
und bezieht Filmstills und -musik aus “The Sound of Music” ein.
Herbert Soltys arbeitet medienübergreifend mit Malerei und Zeichnung. Mit der Ausstellung “The Sound of Music” präsentiert er den ersten Teil der
namensgleichen Serie. Das Überarbeiten zählt zu Soltys’ konzeptueller Methode und wird anhand eines mehrjährigen Ausstellungszyklus dokumentiert.
Im Herbst 2011 wird Herbert Soltys als artist in residence in Manila, Philippinen, das Projekt “The Sound of Music” weiterenführen.
Herbert Soltys will present actual works in the exhibition “The Sound of Music”.
The exhibition is the prelude to a perennial examination of the notations homeland and outland. On the basis of the musical film “The Sound of Music”,
one of the most famous productions in history with the nine Trapps as chief characters, Soltys examines the foreign interpretations of traditional
Austrian values and lifestyle.He confronts the visitor with historical images through accessible room-installations. Austrian referred images, painted
in black and white, point on the handling of Austrian history. In an installation Soltys uses cut-outs of the Trapp family, installed in front of a blue
mountain series, as surface for film projection. Soltys work uses various forms of media as reference: He resorts to clichéd images of Austrian advertisements
and involves film stills and audio from “The Sound of Music”.
Herbert Soltys works trans-medial with drawing and painting. With the exhibition “The Sound of Music” he presents the first part of the homonymous series.
Revising is central part of Soltys’ conceptual method and will be documented by means of perennial exhibition cycle of the works presented. In autumn
2011 Herbert Soltys will refine “The Sound of Music” project during his residency in Manila, Philippines
Viennafair - Vienna
Represendet Artist:
Poklong Anading, Gerardo Tan, Gaston Damag, David Griggs, Jayson Oliveria, Manuel Ocampo, MM Yu, Lena Cobangbang, Robert Langenegger and Federico Solmi
Booth number: A0729
Exhibition: Thursday, May 13 – Sunday, May 15, 2011
Website: http://www.viennafair.at
Robert Langenegger
Mental Hygiene
Opening:
April 15th 2011, 6 to 10 pm
the artist will be present
opening remarks:
Mag. Günther Holler-Schuster
Exhibition data:
April 16th to May 14th 2011
Monday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm; Saturday, 10 am to 3 pm
Exhibition Guideline for download - Please click here
Opening shots - Please click here
Langenegger deals with actual socio-cultural and (global) political questions, formulated in sarcastic, humorous images.
In complex image-systems he visualizes subjects like paedophilia, corruption, social exclusion and physical deformation.
Langengegger’s works are narrative, sometimes speciously (naive), shocking (honest) and affected by apocalyptic hopelessness.
Robert Langenegger works in different media like drawing, photography and video but mainly realizes his ideas through painting.
„Mental Hygiene“ is his first solo exhibition in Austria.
He will present works from his residency in Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill
Jayson Oliveria
ruined before it hits the ground
Opening:
April 15th 2011, 6 to 10 pm
the artist will be present
opening remarks:
Mag. Günther Holler-Schuster
Exhibition data:
April 16th to May 14th 2011
Monday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm; Saturday, 10 am to 3 pm
Exhibition Guide for download - Please click here
Opening shots - Please click here
Jayson Oliveria‘s works do not examine painting, they are paintings. For Oliveria painting means „the act of creating a painting.“
He sees his work as a persiflage of himself and painting itself.
Oliveria‘s works consist of several layers which do not necessarily correspond- just like a train of thoughts. Figurative elements become
abstract through the superimposing of layers and painting becomes a method – on which end a new beginning appears.
Oliveria works consistently and in series. He has been invited to join international exhibitions, for example the Tate Turbine Hall, London
in 2010, and has received several awards, such as the CCP 13th Artist Award 2006 and the Ateneo Art Award 2004.
„ruined before it hits the ground“ is Jayson Oliveria‘s first solo exhibition in Europe.
He will show works from his residency in Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill.
MARTIN KRENN
MEMORY IN (POST-) TOTALITARIANISM
Opening:
March 11th 2011, 6 to 10 pm
the artists will be present
Exhibition data:
March 12th to April 9th 2011
Monday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm; Saturday, 10 am to 3 pm
Exhibition Guide for download - please click here
Opening shots - please click here
Martin Krenn’s exhibition, “Memory in (Post-)Totalitarianism”, reconstitutes a photographic journey by depicting various historical locations, memorials, museums and archives in Germany and Romania. It analyzes evolutionary developments in the politics of memory and history in totalitarian and post totalitarian societies. The artist is interested in how the traces of communist and fascist ideologies have affected succeeding generations and the influence of a totalitarian past in reshaping political spaces. Kren examines the role that memorial sites, feature films and historical novels play in the creation of collective and cultural memory. He interviewed experts in various areas and looked into the various presentational strategies used at official and unofficial memorial sites.
The core of the exhibition comprises photographs which are part of a three-channel slide and sound installation. In his photographs Martin Krenn refers to different media: historical construction in the GDR about the Buchenwald concentration camp is investigated using film stills from the DEFA classic “Naked among wolves”. Furthermore, paralleling his first visit, the artist wanders through the Sighet memorial in Romania a tour that is simulated in great detail in 3D on an available DVD. The text passages in the installation cite the expert interviews. Another part of the exhibition shows video interviews with the journalist and author Oliver Lustig and the president of the Association of Romanian Jews Victims of the Holocaust, Liviu Beris. The interviews provide insight into historical and political developments in Romania from the point of view of Holocaust survivors.
POKLONG ANADING
DIE MAP FÜR GUDBUYS
Opening:
December 10th 2010, 6 to 10 pm
the artists will be present
Exhibition data:
December 11th 2010 to March 5th 2011
Monday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm; Saturday 10 am to 3 pm
Exhibition Guide for download - Please click here
We can say that Poklong Anading is an alchemist of the ordinary. And yet it would be more precise to call him a meta-alchemist, for his work, while surprising and pleasing us,
makes us keenly aware of the impossibility of true transcendence or transformation of matter without remainder. In “Without With”, for example, dreamed-of gold is only spraypainted
and is meant to flake off, turning back to dust. In “Anonymity,” light itself—that symbol of immateriality—becomes the mark of erasure, the opaque light of the negative.
Anading’s materials could not help but retain their materiality as materials. This is seen most clearly in his drawings: pencil lines (even as they are animated by a video
documenting how they are made) become a wall of graphite (“Line Drawing”); bright geometric shapes coincide with actual creases on crumpled paper (“Black and Gold
Series”; and abstract contours are but outlines of found, discarded woodboard cutouts (“Dragon Kites”).
The artist’s choice of materials—the accidental (folds, creases, cutouts), and the discarded (human fat, plastic bags) —places an emphasis on the by-product, exposing our
very condition: In our world, the forward march of Capital tends to no real end-product in the first place. Everything becomes a by-product as the doctrine of built-in
obsolescence and innovation conceives of every commodity as a disposable good. The end-product is but a mirage wavering at the horizon of the production line. The plastic
shopping bags—those flags blowing in the wind of consumerism—are emblematic of this realization. And the plastic bags over people’s heads in Anading’s aptly titled “--------”,
suggests even further, in no uncertain terms, that selfhood itself is a by-product of Capital.
These portraits and the pictures of “Anonymity” foreground these and other questions of subjectivity under the plastic shroud and the hard light of Capital. These portraits are
mirror images of each other, punctuating the exhibit. They express the defining conundrum of our times. The question they ask is this: How do you face the problem if the
problem is your face?
Jose Perez Beduya
GASTON DAMAG
DER KUNST IHRE ZEIT
Opening:
December 10th 2010, 6 to 10 pm
the artists will be present
Exhibition data:
December 11th 2010 to March 5th 2011
Monday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm; Saturday 10 am to 3 pm
Exhibition Guide for download - Please click here
Gaston Damag is a performance and installation artist who has lived in France for nearly twenty-five years. Although he acknowledges the way in which French culture have had
some bearing on his way of thinking or responding to what he experiences, he continues to identify himself as a Filipino, particularly of his ethnic group Ifugao. He studied
Beaux-Arts (Fine Arts) mainly in Paris that allowed him to establish exchanges with artists of different backgrounds and origins.
Damag may be described as an ethnographic artist, tapping into objects that are classified as anthropological and posing questions about their reference and
representation…Damag is one artist who keeps his perspective as Filipino and Ifugao in his concepts and making of art despite his years of absence from the Philippines …
Damag is interested in processes and the way in which space and time coincide or brake apart. It seems he is responding to the quickness of technology being able to transport
people quickly from place to another, even if the mind and being of travellers have not caught up with the instant dislocation…
Ana Maria Theresa P. Labrador
Text from: Museum of Ethnology Vienna Early collections (PHILIPPINES), A RE-APPRAISAL OF THE BULUL
Opening
Inversion of the Ideal
Opening:
October 28th 2010, 6 to 10 pm
the artists will be present
Exhibition data:
October 29th to November 27th 2010
Monday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm, Saturday, 10 am to 3 pm
Inversion of the Ideal
gives an introduction into the work of eighteen different artist from three continents and therefore the future gallery programme.
Artists represented:
Poklong Anading (RP), Alfredo Barsuglia (A), Lena Cobangbang (RP), Gaston Damag (F/RP), Markus Dressler (A), David Griggs (AUS), Martin Krenn (A), Robert Langenegger (CH/RP), Otto Muehl (A), Hermann Nitsch (A), Manuel Ocampo (RP/USA), Jayson Oliveria (RP), Isa Rosenberger (A), Federico Solmi (I/USA), Herbert Soltys (A), Gabriele Sturm (A), Gerardo Tan (RP), MM Yu (RC/RP).