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8/2/2007

Collezione #2 Video Art

Brancolini Grimaldi Arte Contemporanea, Roma

Shaun Gladwell | Christian Gonzenbach | Joey Kotting | Oliver Michaels

curator Stephen Hepworth

Collezione #2 is the third in an occasional series of exhibitions commissioned by Isabella Brancolini from British curator Stephen Hepworth. This instalment brings together the work of four young video artists from Europe and America that share an interest in the humour, physical comedy and technical innovations of early Hollywood cinema. Echoing the films of early stars such as: Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin; they share a humour that can makes us laugh out loud while reflecting poignantly on life.

Shaun Gladwell uses urban environments as temporary stages for physical activity, such as skateboarding, freestyle bike riding and break dancing, to explore the relationship between body, activity and site. In Tangara (2003), he employs the device of inverting the camera turning it on himself inside a Sydney train. Hanging from the handrails of its futuristic interior he performs a series of movements that when played back in slow motion appear to show him defying gravity.

Christian Gonzenbach's animations give life to a range of objects and materials from clay to dead animals. In Natural History (Gherkins!) (2005), he uses the humble pickle cucumber in a video that is part Damian Hirst, part science fiction. Close-up shots of gherkins crammed together in a tank are cut together with scenes from a makeshift processing tank/nursery where proud, if agitated, 'parents' watch over the production/growth of their young. The activity is frenzied, and the Gherkins escape to 'graze' on a green hillside before returning to overwhelm the facility from where they came.

Joey Kötting's short films record the act of making paintings. Canvases painted with light sensitive paint are exposed to sunlight, whilst being partially obscured by a human body or activity. His films capture the genteel absurdity of these actions with the faded charm of a 1950's home movie. Trying to Fly Before the Sun's Too High (2001), shows Kötting sitting on top of a child's climbing frame with a large canvas strapped to his back, periodically he flaps his wings, like some demented Icarus and jumps to the ground, before climbing back to his perch and repeating.

Oliver Michaels' Tube Balloon Thing (2006), shows a rudimentary machine sitting on a table in his studio. At the end of two thin pipes are blue balloons that periodically inflate and then violently deflate. This exertion causes a variety of everyday objects to be expelled from a larger tube at the opposite end of the machine. Some items fly out ricocheting off the wall, while others appear to need more encouragement from a further blast of air. As time goes on the pile of miscellaneous objects grows, reflecting the absurdity of the machine that produced them.

Shaun Gladwell was born in 1972 in Australia, and lives and works in Sydney. He has exhibited at Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane and in the 27th Bienal de Sao Paulo (2006).

Christian Gonzenbach was born in 1975 in Switzerland, and lives and works in Genève. He has exhibited at Musée des Beaux- Arts, Le Locle and Centre d'art Contemporain, Genève.

Joey Kötting was born in 1966 in England, and lives and works in Los Angeles. He has exhibited at Collection Lambert, Avignon and Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

Oliver Michaels was born 1972 in England, and lives and works in New York. He has exhibited at Kunsthaus Graz and PS1, New York

Image: Shaun Gladwell

Opening: Friday, February 9th 2007, 7pm

Brancolini Grimaldi Arte Contemporanea
Via dei Tre Orologi, 6A - Roma
Tues-Sat 3-7pm
Free admission

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