Two exhibitions
dal 27/4/2007 al 13/7/2007
Segnalato da
27/4/2007
Two exhibitions
Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin
The core element of Christopher Wool's work is the process of painting itself which he explores by reducing form and color. In this new series of paintings he uses a radical material, solvent, to modify the pattern, long tangled lines of black enamel spray paint. Darren Almond exhibition's theme is Auschwitz: Terminus is a large array of bus shelters. In conjunction will be large scale, bromide photographic prints of the dead forests of Siberia.
Christopher Wool
April 27 – May 26, 2007
At Zimmerstrasse Galerie Max Hetzler is pleased to present an exhibition of recent work by Christopher Wool. The core element of Christopher Wool’s work is the process of painting itself which he explores by reducing form and color, then experimenting with different painting and reproduction techniques within these parameters: using silkscreen or pattern rollers, layering and erasing, making certain motives invisible with white paint, then adding other motives on top. The range of techniques Wool has used over the years makes reference to contemporary art history, from the silkscreens of Andy Warhol to Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings.
In this new series of paintings Wool uses a radical material, solvent, to modify the pattern, long tangled lines of black enamel spray paint. Spray paint is associated with the creation of urban graffiti and the attempt to wash it away. Thus Wool’s paintings are constructed by destruction: the black lines are partly removed, blended into each other and sometimes made white. He then paints new lines and erases them again, creating a dynamic tension between the contrast of patterns, the wash-like strokes and the curved lines.
Wool said: ‚I became more interested in „how to paint“ than „what to paint.“’ His work encourages the viewer to reflect on the physical qualities of paint, to be aware of painting procedures and the essential elements of the medium: form, line and colour.
The artist is exhibiting at Galerie Max Hetzler since 1989. He has been featured in numerous exhibitions, both solo and group shows, including the Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Strasbourg (2006); Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno, Valencia (2006); P.S.1 – Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City (2004); Camden Arts Center, London (2004); Le Consortium, Dijon (2002); Secession, Vienna (2001); Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (1998) and Kunsthalle Basel (1998).
A catalogue will be published on the occasion of the exhibition.
Christopher Wool was born in 1955 in Chicago. He lives and works in New York.
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Night & Fog
April 27 – July 14, 2007
At the temporary space of OsramHofe in Berlin-Wedding Galerie Max Hetzler is pleased to present an exhibition of recent work by Darren Almond. 'Night and Fog’ is the title of a documentary film by Alain Resnais from 1955 about Auschwitz. This is also the subject of Almonds exhibition. It is divided into three bodies of work:
‚Terminus’ is a large array of bus shelters relocated from the town of Oswieçim, Poland. Almond here concludes his project with the Polish town. Last year has seen the completion of the town’s refurbishment of new shelters, an aspect which is integral to the work that will be on view. These quotidian objects that once stood near the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum are drawn from ‚the material culture of the „second world” – the nearly-vanished social space that once mediated between center and periphery of the social global political economy.’ (Charity Scribner) Now, relocated in Berlin, with remarkable economy they activate a force field between Nazi-era Auschwitz and postwar Oswieçim, designating the gallery as a frame for reflection on recent history and its cultural mobilization.
In conjunction will be large scale, bromide photographic prints of the dead forests of Siberia. Almond spent the past five years travelling to the nickel mines of Norilsk, formerly Norilag, the largest and harshest of Stalin’s Gulags. Today Norilsk is a closed city, it is controlled by the Norilsk Nickel Company which also controls the world’s market price for this ore, visas are heavily monitored. As a bi-product of the smelting process the mines produce some of the largest amounts of sulphur dioxide on the globe which in turn has generated extraordinary amounts of acid rain and destroyed the surrounding forests of the region.
Almond also draws reference to the mining history of Oswieçim. The work’s title ‚Terminus’ has been cast in the form of a train plaque. Originally cast in aluminum, Almond here has used salt. The rubber production for the Nazi war effort demanded vast quantities of salt which was mined from the region of Oswieçim. Installed between these two bodies of work stands an unwritten archive. A modular shelving system of architectural proportions containing 4 million single sheets of paper, a solid-state hard drive of potential possibilities.
A book will be published on the Terminus project with Holzwarth Publications.
This is the fourth solo show of Darren Almond at Galerie Max Hetzler. He was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2005 and had solo exhibitions at the Folkwang Museum, Essen (2006); K21 – Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf (2005); Lentos Kunstmuseum, Linz (2004); Tate Britain, London (2001); De Appel Foundation – Centre for Contemporary Art, Amsterdam (2001); Kunsthalle Zurich (2001); The Renaissance Society, Chicago (1999) and the ICA - Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (1997)
Darren Almond was born in 1971 in Wigan, North England. He lives and works in London.
Image: Cristopher Wool
Galerie Max Hetzler
Zimmerstrasse 90/91 - Berlin
Opening hours: Tuesday – Saturday 11 am – 6 pm
Free admission