Sarah Crowner und Paulina Olowska
13 Dec 2008 - 31 Jan 2009
SARAH CROWNER UND PAULINA OLOWSKA
"Ceramics and other things"
13.12.2008 - 31.01.2009
daadgalerie
In this collaborative project for the daadgalerie, Sarah Crowner and Paulina Olowska investigate the medium of ceramics. In the process, each artist develops her own approach towards an idea of ceramics, both working predominantly with one of its
most basic forms; the tile.
For this exhibition, Crowner made tiles from different types of clay, organizing their geometric shapes into two different abstract compositions. Olowska uses ceramic as a material to explore possible painting techniques. She painted singular clay-tiles (hand-made or prefabricated) with glazes using figurative and abstracts motifs. In the gallery, both artists' ceramic pieces are displayed together on long low platforms recalling a craft fair display or a runway at a fashion show. The presentation invites the viewer to squat down to rummage through and visually investigate the various pieces. Since they are
not fixed, but simply placed on the platforms, they suggest the possibility of rearrangement. The pieces are lit with freestanding industrial lights, suggesting the presentation of objects at archeological excavation sites.
Paulina Olowska has previously referred to crafts in her work, such as the Polish metalwork of the 1950s and 60s and its particular position outside of the command economy, combining this with elements of modernism. For “Ceramics and Other Things” she uses found and newly produced objects as compositional elements, creating minimalist, collage-like installations arranged throughout the exhibition space. She focuses on the flatness of the tiles, their surface textures and various types of glazing.
For quite a while, Sarah Crowner has been engaged in the tradition and practice of ceramics, and recently published an artist book about the Dadaist and ceramist Beatrice Wood. She is interested in new ideas and ways of dealing with ceramics, relating to Californian ceramic traditions from Peter Voulkos and Beatrice Wood to Mary Heilmann.
Sarah Crowner was born in 1974 and raised in Los Angeles, California. Since 1999 she has participated in many international group shows, at venues such as White Columns, The Kitchen, Printed Matter and the Artists Space in New York. In 2008, she had a solo exhibition at the Nice & Fit gallery in Berlin. Crowner has realized various projects in public spaces, e.g. at Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris and in Brooklyn, New York. She has had residencies at ARCO in Lisbon and Skopelos Foundation for the Arts. Since 2007 she has been teacher in residence at Hunter College in New York.
Paulina Olowska was born in 1976 in Gdansk, Poland. In 2007/08 she was a guest of the Berliner Künstlerprogramm. She was featured at the 5th Berlin Biennal in 2008 with works at the Neue Nationalgalerie and a self-curated exhibition at the
Schinkel-Pavillon. The same year she had a solo show at Galerie Daniel Buchholz in Cologne and curated an exhibition of Polish New Wave at MD72 in Berlin. Her work has been shown within the context of group shows at various international institutions, including the Tate Modern, London and Portikus, Frankfurt. The Camden Art Center is planning a solo show with Olowska in 2009.
"Ceramics and other things"
13.12.2008 - 31.01.2009
daadgalerie
In this collaborative project for the daadgalerie, Sarah Crowner and Paulina Olowska investigate the medium of ceramics. In the process, each artist develops her own approach towards an idea of ceramics, both working predominantly with one of its
most basic forms; the tile.
For this exhibition, Crowner made tiles from different types of clay, organizing their geometric shapes into two different abstract compositions. Olowska uses ceramic as a material to explore possible painting techniques. She painted singular clay-tiles (hand-made or prefabricated) with glazes using figurative and abstracts motifs. In the gallery, both artists' ceramic pieces are displayed together on long low platforms recalling a craft fair display or a runway at a fashion show. The presentation invites the viewer to squat down to rummage through and visually investigate the various pieces. Since they are
not fixed, but simply placed on the platforms, they suggest the possibility of rearrangement. The pieces are lit with freestanding industrial lights, suggesting the presentation of objects at archeological excavation sites.
Paulina Olowska has previously referred to crafts in her work, such as the Polish metalwork of the 1950s and 60s and its particular position outside of the command economy, combining this with elements of modernism. For “Ceramics and Other Things” she uses found and newly produced objects as compositional elements, creating minimalist, collage-like installations arranged throughout the exhibition space. She focuses on the flatness of the tiles, their surface textures and various types of glazing.
For quite a while, Sarah Crowner has been engaged in the tradition and practice of ceramics, and recently published an artist book about the Dadaist and ceramist Beatrice Wood. She is interested in new ideas and ways of dealing with ceramics, relating to Californian ceramic traditions from Peter Voulkos and Beatrice Wood to Mary Heilmann.
Sarah Crowner was born in 1974 and raised in Los Angeles, California. Since 1999 she has participated in many international group shows, at venues such as White Columns, The Kitchen, Printed Matter and the Artists Space in New York. In 2008, she had a solo exhibition at the Nice & Fit gallery in Berlin. Crowner has realized various projects in public spaces, e.g. at Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris and in Brooklyn, New York. She has had residencies at ARCO in Lisbon and Skopelos Foundation for the Arts. Since 2007 she has been teacher in residence at Hunter College in New York.
Paulina Olowska was born in 1976 in Gdansk, Poland. In 2007/08 she was a guest of the Berliner Künstlerprogramm. She was featured at the 5th Berlin Biennal in 2008 with works at the Neue Nationalgalerie and a self-curated exhibition at the
Schinkel-Pavillon. The same year she had a solo show at Galerie Daniel Buchholz in Cologne and curated an exhibition of Polish New Wave at MD72 in Berlin. Her work has been shown within the context of group shows at various international institutions, including the Tate Modern, London and Portikus, Frankfurt. The Camden Art Center is planning a solo show with Olowska in 2009.