Lothar Hempel
27 Apr - 26 May 2007
Lothar Hempel
Nachts, wenn alles schläft, 2007
Mixed media, various dimensions
Installation view: c/o - Atle Gerhardsen. April 27 - May 26, 2007
Nachts, wenn alles schläft, 2007
Mixed media, various dimensions
Installation view: c/o - Atle Gerhardsen. April 27 - May 26, 2007
Lothar Hempel
Effetti Speciali
Opening reception: 27 April 2007, 6 - 9 PM
Exhibition duration: 27 April – 26 May 2007
We are very pleased to announce the opening of Lothar Hempel’s third solo exhibition at c/o – Atle Gerhardsen during the Berlin Gallery Weekend from 27-30 April 2007
(www.gallery-weekend-berlin.de)
In his 2007 exhibition at c/o - Atle Gerhardsen, the artist will be presenting three new sculptures and photographs. The core piece of the exhibition is the work “In the death of the night, when everything is sleeping!” (2007). Three felt-sculptures come together in the surreal surroundings of a parade. With their musical instruments and obscure costumes, they are reminiscent of mourning processions from the past. At their feet are photographs of antique Greek sculptures from the Acropolis that the parade is crossing over. Stripped from their context, the figures seem frozen in time and are silently bringing forth music. A black crow keeps a close eye on them, its venomous gaze questioning the scenery.
Lothar Hempel’s work ties into other medial systems. Important in the past years have especially been the relationship to theater, dance and film. Sculptural constellations come into being, which Hempel calls “narrative machines” in this context, drawing in the spectators and calling on their imagination to complete the work.
Lothar Hemplel in conversation with Emma Stern: “My work is geared towards utility. It should have a function and be useful. The entire space - that was previously empty - is comprised in the performance. Some of them lead to a dead-end alleyway; from there one calls out in the dark and waits for an echo. Others are in the midst of conflict. Here one is free to move in front of or behind the scenes, or to remain motionless in observing the possibilities”.
Elsewhere: “I took the title ‘Effetti Speciali’ from the credits to Fellini’s Casanova. It entails something much more subtle and more akin to master craftsmanship than the American special effects. So I thought, that must actually be a good way of describing the kind of things I make.”
Lothar Hempel, born in Cologne in 1966, attended the art academy in Düsseldorf and resides in Cologne. Until May 6th 2007, there will be an opportunity to see 62 pieces from his various periods united in one exhibition in the great retrospective Alphabet City in “Le Magasin” in Grenoble. On the occasion of this exhibition JRP Ringier is releasing an extensive monograph. Furthermore, Lothar Hempel’s work 2007 will be included in the “Imagination becomes Reality. Works from the Goetz collection” exhibition in the Museum for New Art in Karlsruhe as well as in the exhibition “Pale Carnage” at Arnolfini in Bristol, which will subsequently travel to Dundee Contemporary Arts. Further works by the artist are shown in the group exhibition „Half square, half crazy / À demi carré, à demi fou“ in the National Center for Contemporary Art in the Villa Arson, as well as in the Thomas Dane Gallery in London in a group exhibition entitled “VeryAbstract and Hyper Figurative”, curated by Jens Hoffmann.
c/o – Atle Gerhardsen
Holzmarktstraße 15-18
S-Bahnbogen 46
10179 Berlin
Effetti Speciali
Opening reception: 27 April 2007, 6 - 9 PM
Exhibition duration: 27 April – 26 May 2007
We are very pleased to announce the opening of Lothar Hempel’s third solo exhibition at c/o – Atle Gerhardsen during the Berlin Gallery Weekend from 27-30 April 2007
(www.gallery-weekend-berlin.de)
In his 2007 exhibition at c/o - Atle Gerhardsen, the artist will be presenting three new sculptures and photographs. The core piece of the exhibition is the work “In the death of the night, when everything is sleeping!” (2007). Three felt-sculptures come together in the surreal surroundings of a parade. With their musical instruments and obscure costumes, they are reminiscent of mourning processions from the past. At their feet are photographs of antique Greek sculptures from the Acropolis that the parade is crossing over. Stripped from their context, the figures seem frozen in time and are silently bringing forth music. A black crow keeps a close eye on them, its venomous gaze questioning the scenery.
Lothar Hempel’s work ties into other medial systems. Important in the past years have especially been the relationship to theater, dance and film. Sculptural constellations come into being, which Hempel calls “narrative machines” in this context, drawing in the spectators and calling on their imagination to complete the work.
Lothar Hemplel in conversation with Emma Stern: “My work is geared towards utility. It should have a function and be useful. The entire space - that was previously empty - is comprised in the performance. Some of them lead to a dead-end alleyway; from there one calls out in the dark and waits for an echo. Others are in the midst of conflict. Here one is free to move in front of or behind the scenes, or to remain motionless in observing the possibilities”.
Elsewhere: “I took the title ‘Effetti Speciali’ from the credits to Fellini’s Casanova. It entails something much more subtle and more akin to master craftsmanship than the American special effects. So I thought, that must actually be a good way of describing the kind of things I make.”
Lothar Hempel, born in Cologne in 1966, attended the art academy in Düsseldorf and resides in Cologne. Until May 6th 2007, there will be an opportunity to see 62 pieces from his various periods united in one exhibition in the great retrospective Alphabet City in “Le Magasin” in Grenoble. On the occasion of this exhibition JRP Ringier is releasing an extensive monograph. Furthermore, Lothar Hempel’s work 2007 will be included in the “Imagination becomes Reality. Works from the Goetz collection” exhibition in the Museum for New Art in Karlsruhe as well as in the exhibition “Pale Carnage” at Arnolfini in Bristol, which will subsequently travel to Dundee Contemporary Arts. Further works by the artist are shown in the group exhibition „Half square, half crazy / À demi carré, à demi fou“ in the National Center for Contemporary Art in the Villa Arson, as well as in the Thomas Dane Gallery in London in a group exhibition entitled “VeryAbstract and Hyper Figurative”, curated by Jens Hoffmann.
c/o – Atle Gerhardsen
Holzmarktstraße 15-18
S-Bahnbogen 46
10179 Berlin