Henning Bohl
07 Sep - 13 Oct 2007
HENNING BOHL
Casey Kaplan is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition of Henning Bohl in the United States. Hovering between figuration and abstraction, minimalism and the decorative, Henning Bohl deconstructs the meaning of found objects by systematically creating new way(s) to represent and understand them. The artist’s upcoming exhibition “History of Garden Theory” presents mixed media works in an installation of landscapes, fences, ceramic frogs and lanterns that create a metaphorical garden in the gallery space. Bohl weaves a net of references from sources including (art) history, old books, magazines and illustrations to create a thematic field that combines diverse subjects using different materials. In a new series, Bohl creates unique collage on canvas artworks using the words from the title of a found book, History of Garden Theory. After determining that there are twenty-four possible combinations that the four words “History” “Of” “Garden” “Theory” can be arranged, Bohl set upon a system of deconstructing the book’s title by shifting the words, thus creating new meanings and different variations of the original. Bohl is interested in playing with the mechanics of Modernism while deconstructing order and meaning. He replaces cool, machine-like precision with handicraft, which can be seen in the aforementioned Garden Theory series where the typography that appears on each canvas is created by using folded photocopied paper of faux wood grain and colored tape. The gallery installation becomes a multi-layered storytelling device where each work is a constant reassessment of the way images are made and how ideas become objects. In 2000-04, Henning Bohl studied with Thomas Bayrle and Michael Krebber at the Städelschule Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt, Germany. In 2005 the artist had a solo exhibition at the Kunstverein, Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany; was included in “Street: behind the Cliché,” at the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; and the 4th Berlin Biennial for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany. Bohl has additionally had solo exhibitions at Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Köln, Germany in 2006 and Galerie Karin Guenther, Hamburg, Germany in 2004.
Casey Kaplan is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition of Henning Bohl in the United States. Hovering between figuration and abstraction, minimalism and the decorative, Henning Bohl deconstructs the meaning of found objects by systematically creating new way(s) to represent and understand them. The artist’s upcoming exhibition “History of Garden Theory” presents mixed media works in an installation of landscapes, fences, ceramic frogs and lanterns that create a metaphorical garden in the gallery space. Bohl weaves a net of references from sources including (art) history, old books, magazines and illustrations to create a thematic field that combines diverse subjects using different materials. In a new series, Bohl creates unique collage on canvas artworks using the words from the title of a found book, History of Garden Theory. After determining that there are twenty-four possible combinations that the four words “History” “Of” “Garden” “Theory” can be arranged, Bohl set upon a system of deconstructing the book’s title by shifting the words, thus creating new meanings and different variations of the original. Bohl is interested in playing with the mechanics of Modernism while deconstructing order and meaning. He replaces cool, machine-like precision with handicraft, which can be seen in the aforementioned Garden Theory series where the typography that appears on each canvas is created by using folded photocopied paper of faux wood grain and colored tape. The gallery installation becomes a multi-layered storytelling device where each work is a constant reassessment of the way images are made and how ideas become objects. In 2000-04, Henning Bohl studied with Thomas Bayrle and Michael Krebber at the Städelschule Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt, Germany. In 2005 the artist had a solo exhibition at the Kunstverein, Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany; was included in “Street: behind the Cliché,” at the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; and the 4th Berlin Biennial for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany. Bohl has additionally had solo exhibitions at Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Köln, Germany in 2006 and Galerie Karin Guenther, Hamburg, Germany in 2004.