Valerie Krause / Pep Vidal

Mostra doppia personale di Valerie Krause con Shifting Volume e di Pep Vidal con As a Whole.

Comunicato stampa

VALERIE KRAUSE | SHIFTING VOLUME

Opening: June 13th, 2015 | 18 h

GALERIE | ROLANDO ANSELMI

Galerie Rolando Anselmi is pleased to announce Shifting Volume, the second solo show by German artist Valerie Krause in the gallery space in Berlin. For the exhibition the artist will present three new sculptures selected specifically for this occasion. The pieces are placed in the second exhibition room. From the entrance already and through the narrow passage that separates the two rooms one can glimpse the presence of these peculiar objects. It is the immaterial embodied in the firmness of the physical that affects Krause and indicates the key to understand her sculptures. Her work emphasizes volumes and the hidden dynamism that solid bodies can hold. The sculptures adopt elementary forms: they are not strictly geometrical constructs, but shapes that seem to assume movement in space, accompanied by a gentle minimization of the forms. Whether hanging on the wall unit or placed on the ground or leaning on a tripod in the middle of the room, Krause's sculptures claim their existence in space, with changes of direction that draw abstract geometries and moments of calmness. A play of light and dark, stressed by the black and white colour of the sculptures, creates a suspended balance, which the spectator cannot avoid to perceive. The works in the exhibition are the outcome of a deep investigation on volumes and the places that the volumes of these sculptures generate, in a physical but at the same time emotional dimension. The relation between objects and the surrounding space is a central theme in Krause's artistic research. It recalls the notably thought of natural philosopher, Leibniz, who considered space as in fact a collection of relations between objects, given by their distance and direction one another. Walking through her sculptures we perceive space, as a place that express changing. The interchange of materials such as plaster, steel and wood is accompanied by changes in the forms, some of them rigid, static, others more dynamic. Through layers, twisting and emphasized diagonals, she underlines the intrinsic dynamism of the material, denoting an impression of instability that interferes with the spectator's perception of the space. The works presented in this exhibition are strongly connected with three other sculptures created by the artist, currently on view till July 27th at L21 Gallery, in Madrid. The two exhibitions, born as collaboration between the two galleries, share not only the same title but also the same emotional capacity, bringing the spectator into a continuous reflection on space and the interaction of the material and ourselves with it.

BIOGRAPHY
Valerie Krause was born in Herdecke, Germany, in 1976. She graduated in 2007 at the Düsseldorf Academy with David Rabinowitch and Didier Vermeiren. From 2010 till 2012 she had a teaching assignment at the Düsseldorf Academy. In 2008 she was awarded at Art Cologne (16th-20th April 2008) with the first "Audi Art Award for New Talent” which included the realization of a solo exhibition at the Cologne Artothek and the publication of a monographic catalogue. In 2007 she received a grant from Kunststiftung NRW and in 2008 from EHF, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (2008). Space, movement, and movement in space are central topics to her work both in her sculptures and photographs. Her work was exhibited in many international galleries such as Galerie Rolando Anselmi, Berlin (2013, 2015), Galerie Heinz Holtman, Cologne (2012); Galerie Greta Meert, Bruxelles (2011, 2013); Galerie K4, Munch (2008), Galerie L21, Madrid (2015) and institution such as the Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf in 2012, the bbb centre régional d’initiatives art contemporain Toulouse and the Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin in 2008. In 2013 she took part to the group show Köln Skulptur 7#, at Skulpturenpark Köln. Valerie Krause's work appears in major collections, including Sammlung Zeitgenossischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung at Villa la Collina at Cadenabbia, Italy and Sammlung des Landes NRW, Aachen-Kornelimünster.

Opening: June 13th, 2015 | 18 h

GALERIE | ROLANDO ANSELMI

Galerie Rolando Anselmi is delighted to present As a Whole, the first solo show in Germany and in its space in Berlin by Pep Vidal. The artist, linking scientific thought as life experience to his artistic practice, works with the concepts of systems and infinitesimal changes. Changes really small that take place constantly, everywhere, along a chaotic and almost infinite chain. Infinitesimal changes that produce bigger and visible changes. For his show As a Whole, Vidal will present a site-specific installation in the first room, transforming the white wall gallery space in a coordinate system. From a distance it appears as an obsessive repetition of points, with a blurry effect, but after a closed look, one realizes that these points are actually a regular succession of yellow smiley faces, covering the four sides and the ceiling of the room. Thousands of eyes pointed toward the center, staring at the visitor. Starting point for Vidal is the often-imperceptible impact that all gestures have on their surroundings and the consideration that each space with any kind of interaction is a system that can be modified, or destroyed, in order to create new systems. Systems are constantly modifying due to infinitesimal changes. In this occasion Vidal builds a coordinate system where spectators, as dynamic elements, are the main focus, together with other static elements, which are working with the accuracy and limits of control of the system. The viewer, moving around the space, is in a way continuously repositioning itself in relation to the system created by the artist. The repetitive, controlled, measured nature of the coordinates confronts with the lightness and friendly appearance of the yellow smileys, as a reminder of the numerous dichotomies that characterize our reality. Suddenly we see a sculpture, Collapse, coming out from the wall. It is a column made by smileys stickers, one on the top of the other, representing the unexpected collapse of the coordinate system, standing as metaphor of destruction and recreation. Using science as the basis of his methodology, Pep Vidal recreates a singular space and a theoretical framework in the unresolved attempt to investigate chaotic and orderly processes that define our reality and questioning the creative act itself.

BIOGRAPHY
Pep Vidal (Barcelona, 1980) obtained in 2008 a degree in Mathematics at Universitat Autònoma of Barcelona (UAB). In 2014 obtained his PhD in Physics at UAB and ALBA synchrotron, working on mathematical algorithms for improving accuracy of instruments used in particle accelerators. From his academic background he reached two conclusions: "there are some extremely sensitive and complex systems; and I’m not interested in research that doesn’t include my own experience and vital life in the process". Between 2011 and 2012 he followed an advanced course in Contemporary Art in A*Desk, conducted by David Armengol. He is Co-founder of granja.cat, a project focused on spreading mathematical culture - especially to children - through workshops, talks and other activities. Pep Vidal exhibited in international institutions and private galleries such as La Casa Encendida, Madrid (2015), La Fabbrica del Vapore, Milano (2015), L21 Gallery, Madrid (2014, 2015), Fundació Antoni Tapies, Barcelona (2014), La Capella, Barcelona (2013), LABoral Centro de Arte, Gijon (2012) and Salón, Madrid (2013). His works are included in art collections such as Anny De Decker Collection, Antwerpen, Francisco Cantos Collection, Madrid, Urbano Collection, Madrid, Fundación Montemadrid, Madrid, Arxiu del Centre d’Estudis i Documentació del MACBA, Barcelona, Centro de Documentación y Biblioteca del MNCARS, Madrid and MoMA Library, New York. In 2014 he was selected for Propuestas VEGAP 2014, with the project "From nothing to void" and awarded with the Miquel Casablancas prize (publication), presenting his PhD thesis as an artist book. At the beginning of 2015 he was awarded with the prize Generaciones 2015 of the Fundación Montemadrid with the project "Following the (Magnetic) North Pole.