Breuning, Motti, Sherman
dal 24/3/2006 al 26/5/2006
Segnalato da
24/3/2006
Breuning, Motti, Sherman
Galerie Nicola von Senger, Zurich
New photographs by Olaf Breuning, serigraphs of newspaper interventions by Gianni Motti, and early photographs by Cindy Sherman that have only recently been rediscovered. The artists are linked by an approach rooting in Conceptual Art, and the medium of photography, which they know to use in rather different ways.
Galerie Nicola von Senger is pleased to present an exhibition with works
from Olaf Breuning, Gianni Motti, and Cindy Sherman. The exhibition
features new photographs by Olaf Breuning, serigraphs of newspaper
interventions by Gianni Motti, and early photographs by Cindy Sherman
that have only recently been rediscovered. The artists are linked by an
approach rooting in Conceptual Art, and the medium of photography, which
they know to use in rather different ways.
The aesthetics give the first clue to these differences. Breuning’s
photographs are large and colourful while Sherman’s works, albeit more
numerous in this exhibition, are much smaller and in black and white.
Breuning’s use of the large format suits the conscious and superficial
banality of the subject. An abandoned theme park in Bilbao and the
unfortunately named Lake Titicaca, whose mixture of indigenous cultural
and existential importance and a name that is bound to elicit an
infantile response, serve as the backdrop for the new photographs. The
first portrays an artificially created world left to natural decay, and
the second shows a natural environment that is threatened by cultural
dissolution. The contextual paradox around the images rises to their
surface alternately with subtlety and force.
Cindy Sherman’s photographs of the Bus Riders series (1976) are of a
simplicity that points to the strong influence of conceptual art toward
the end of her university career and around the artist space Hallwalls.
Sherman poses with simple theatrical dress and make-up in twenty
variations as black and white, male and female bus riders. The works are
studies or photographic sketches which draw the mien and manner of the
quotidian onto her body. They are precursors of the famous stylised
Untitled Film Stills (1977-80), which have defined the perception of
Sherman’s early work until now. The same shadow always cast on the back
wall from the studio lighting and the remote cable release trailing on
the hardwood floor reveal the experimental quality and immediacy of these
photographs that stand at the very beginning of one of the most important
artistic careers of our time.
For Gianni Motti, who rarely triggers the shutter release personally,
photography is nonetheless an important tool. It serves both to document
his actions and performances and to reflect the reality that he aims to
undermine. In the exhibition, Motti shows serigraphs of newspaper
articles that have - intentionally or not - captured such moments. Motti
is present in straight-forward articles that report on actions such as
his attempt to telepathically urge the Colombian president to resign from
office, and, more surprisingly, wearing the same sweater in a number of
photographs that illustrate stories that have nothing at all to do with
him.
Gregor Staiger
Galerie Nicola von Senger AG
Bleicherweg 45 CH-8002 Zurich Switzerland
Opening hours: Tue - Fri 9.30am - 6pm / Sat 12 - 4pm