6/12/2001
Partnerships
NGBK, Berlin
The exhibition series 'Partnerships' in three parts presents artist couples who have never occurred with common works. Each relationship and common artistic analysis took different courses. Their friendship was overshadowed by Aids: one partner of each died in cause of the sickness of HIV. The series of double exhibitions starts with Ull Hohn and Tom Burr.
Ull Hohn (1960 - 1995) and Tom Burr (*1963)
First part of the series
"Partnerships"
This exhibition continues the series of "Interrupted Careers" within the
NGBK, New Society of Visual Arts.
The exhibition series "Partnerships" in three parts presents artist couples
who have never occurred with common works. Each relationship and common
artistic analysis took different courses. Their friendship was overshadowed
by Aids: one partner of each died in cause of the sickness of HIV.
The series of double exhibitions starts with Ull Hohn (1960 - 1995) and Tom
Burr (*1963).
They got to know each other in the Whitney Independent Study
Program in New York, where they participated in 1987/88. Hohn came in 1986
from Düsseldorf, wher he studied fine arts at Gerhard Richters class at the
Academie of Arts. The native american Tom Burr studied at the School of
Visual Arts in New York.
Though both artists have worked within different medias -Hohn used to work
exclusively as a painter, while Burr works with installations, objects and
text -they nevertheless focused on the same theories of art. Questions of
representation and the connection of private and public discourse, as well
as the marginalisation of homosexuality, were common contents in both work.
These questions also arose because of their private exchange in their
loveaffair.
The exhibition in the NGBK presents some series of paintings from Ull Hohn,
which explicitly deal with sexuality, and some other series which reflect
the role of painting as media itself in the end of the century. Shortly
before his death, Hohn resumed in 1994/95 some of his eary works, painted
them again, and initiated a retrospective tendency in his own work. With
that he critically questioned arthistorical parameters like "mastership" or
hisoricism.
This historical perspective is also recognizable in Tom Burrs work who
constantly relates his work to existing forms and works of art like Minimal
Art. He evolves new functions and meanings to the supposed autonom and
reductionist objects of Minimal Art while creating different contexts. In
his work sexuality has also played a central role, especially in its public
but marginalised appearance like pornography and homosexuality.
For the exhibition of NGBK Tom Burr designed a series of large walk-in
container objects. In this presentation both artists will be shown the first
time together. The container objects form a certain structure in which they
are brought into reference with Ull Hohns works by creating and preventing
view-axises. With that, Tom Burrs reaction to the subject of the exhibition
can be experienced.
Opening: December 7, 2001 at 7:00 pm.
Opening hours: daily 12:00 am to 6:30 pm.
Closed on December 24, 25, 31 and New Years Eve
Free entrance
The two following exhibitions wtihin the series "Partnerships" are going to
be:
January 19, 2002 - February 17, 2002
Jochen Klein (1967-1997) and Wolfgang Tillmans (*1968)
February 23, 2001 to March 24, 2002
Matt. Ranger (1956-1991) and Piotr Nathan (*1956)
A catalogue to the three exhibitons will be published in January with essays
written by Ulmann-Matthias Hakert, Manfred Hermes, Susanne A. Hofmann, Jutta
Koether, Stefanie Kreuzer, Kassandra Nakas, Torsten Neuendorff and Frank
Wagner, about 112 pages with many images.
The series "Interrupted Careers" already presented three exhibitions:
In 1997 "Mark Morrisroe 1959 - 1989", in 1999 "Immediate Past/ Interrupted
Careers: Christian Borngräber, Manfred Salzgeber, Wolfgang Max Faust - Three
Cultural Agents in the eightees" and in 2000 "Hannah Wilke 1940 - 1993"
NGBK New Society for Fine Art
Oranienstrasse 25 D-10999
Berlin
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