calendario eventi  :: 

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22/1/2010

Two exhibitions

Kuckei + Kuckei, Berlin

Barbara Probst

Barbara Probst investigates the many ambiguities inherent to the photographic image. In her work the relationship of the photographic instant to reality is intensified in two distinct ways whereby the captured moment acquires an almost unsettling quality: on the one hand, Barabara Probst abandons the single-eye gaze of the camera and divides it into various points of view. On the other, she multiplies and diversifies the short moment of the shot. Thanks to a radio-controlled release system she can simultaneously trigger the shutters of several cameras pointed at the same event or subject from different angles and various distances. The depictions of each specific instant generated by this method constitute a series. The relationship of single shots to one another within a series is not determined by a common unifying principle or any stylistic markers. There is no formal proximity and no overall theme to tie the works together. Yet the photographs are bound by a tighter but still elusive link, namely the one and only moment of an exposure which is their very subject.

In our everyday life each instant is tied to a single experience no matter how complex this experience may be. We depend on a notion of time experienced as a sequence of events which seems to be indispensable to our sense of being. Different occurences can only be experienced at different moments and the same occurence can only be seen from one place. Every view depends on the position of one observer and a single point in time. It is only when we talk about God or the gods that we say they can see everything from any point and one thing from everywhere. The very object we behold can obstruct our sight and this can render everything else invisible. Photography operates within the field of viewpoints. The sense of loss that speaks out of every photograph has to do with the exceptional character of any singled out time fragment and the impossibility of superseding the single gaze. And every photograph is an attempt to elude this sense of loss. (...)

(...) The belief in an absolute truth of the photographic image has been thrown into doubt for a long time. There is no going back. Barbara Probst’s endeavor to cast new light on the entire field of photographic activity offers an opportunity to break down or at least challenge the defining power of images. She has managed to cut an analytical path around the problem. But when all candidness is gone what is left of the world? A purely cynical destruction of the illusion would ultimately leave us disappointed. Yet as we view this series of images we feel a sense of relief. Since we cannot trust the pictures, we do not have to trust them. We are given permission to enjoy our experience because nothing compels us to believe. I escape the insistent claim of truth and the trap of taste. I do not have to judge each single photograph because this is not what is expected of me. Disappointment unexpectedly gives way to a suspended sense of freedom. We are called to find our way through the world as we pass by the pictures or skip over them. This moment of enlightenment questions our world of images precisely because it strives for reality. Stefan Schessl

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Why not? Contemporary South African Art
Curated by Christian Ganzenberg

Avant Car Guard, Zander Blom, Michael MacGarry, Nandipha Mntambo

why not? is the second of two exhibitions on contemporary South African Art at Gallery Kuckei + Kuckei in Berlin. The first show A Look Away was dedicated to photography and included works by Pieter Hugo, Sabelo Mlangeni, Mikhael Subotzky, Lolo Veleko and Guy Tillim. Part two now focuses on the latest developments in the field of sculpture, installation, performance and concept art.

Why should an artist from South Africa, with limited and restricted access to art history conduct research in Modernism and abstract Avant-garde movements of the 20th century? Should an emerging artist summarize his very first working series in a comprehensive and concluding catalogue raisonné? Should a female artist, who is investigating the possibilities of material, make use of cowhide, bones and pearls in order to challenge the perceptions of femininity within society?

Should an artist do pointless things, knowing they are pointless per se, while still taking them very seriously? Can an artist collective, mimicking a rock band, question the glossy overcoat of the contemporary art world only to expose that there is nothing underneath it, except more gloss, pomp and glory? Should contemporary South African art investigate the ongoing ramifications of Colonialism on the African continent and visualize the mechanics of political power?

Can a conceptual artist claim „all theory. no practice.“ and nevertheless working in various media, from sculpture to photography and bronzes? Is it possible to select a few emerging artists in order to present Contemporary South African Art and give an insight on a promising and aspiring art scene?

why not?

Avant Car Guard are Zander Blom, Jan-Henri Booyens and Michael MacGarry - a three member visual art collective from Johannesburg. They have published two books on their production entitled »Volume I« and »Volume II«. Their practice and approach to art production, the art world and their own collective role as »artist« is characterized by a strong sense of humour and punk sensibility. Their conceptual working method gets depicted in photography and performance.

Zander Blom was born in Pretoria in 1982 and currently lives in Johannesburg. He studied graphic design before he started working as an artist. As Winner of a Merit Award at the 2003 Sasol New Signatures he has been exhibited nationally and internationally in both solo and group exhibitions. Zander’s first gallery exhibition, »The Drain of Progress” - a Catalogue Raisonné«, was named by frieze Magazine as one of the ‘most internationally significant solo exhibitions´ of 2007.

Michael MacGarry was born in Durban in 1978. He lives and works in Johannesburg , where he graduated in Fine Arts from the University of Witwatersrand with distinction. In 2008 the Johannesburg Gallery Art Extra and the KZNSA Gallery in Durban dedicated him a solo exhibition. Besides his work as visual artist, he is also working as curator and author.

Nandipha Mntambo was born in Swaziland in 1982 and graduated with a Masters in Fine Art (with distinction) from the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, in 2007. Since 2005 she has participated in several international exhibitions, among them the »MTN New Contemporaries exhibition« at Johannesburg Art Gallery, ».za: Young Art from South Africa«, Palazzo delle Papesse in Siena and »Number Two: Fragile« at Julia Stoschek Collection, Dusseldorf. In 2005 she was the recipient of the Brett Kebble Art Awards Curatorial Fellowship in South Africa.

Image: Barbara Probst, Exposure #56: N.Y.C., 428 Broome Street, 06.05.08, 1:42 p.m." (Detail)

Opening reception 23 Januar, 19-21h

Kuckei + Kuckei
Linienstraße 158 D-10115 Berlin
Opening hours Tuesday - Friday 11-18 h
Saturday 11 - 17 h
free admission

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