Heidelberger Kunstverein

In both a trenchant and poetic manner, sculptor Jan Bünnig presents the creative process of his artwork to viewers. In his first institutional solo exhibition “Wir bleiben bis 1000 Uhr” (“We’ll stay until 1000 O’Clock”) at the Heidelberger Kunstverein, five tons of clay will be moulded on location into minimalist sculptures. The exhibition space becomes a part of the process––the atelier, as a space of creation, and the exhibition space get mixed up. For his often large-scale work, Bünnig combines traditional materials like clay, mud and wood with industrially connoted materials like concrete, tar and nylon thread, and in addition uses everyday objects. He stages the materials in his sculptures in such a way that they seem to no longer be limited to their inherent physical properties.

The upcoming exhibition directs our attention to the motif of desire in Bünnig’s sculptures. The starting point for the new works produced for the Heidelberger Kunstverein is simply to recognize and enjoy the beauty and overall uniqueness of a given moment in time. This position is also adopted in his on-going series “Luftpost” (air mail): a collection of found objects from around the world that the artist brought on plane flights as his checked luggage. Marked by their journey, the objects become almost like profane relics. They are similar to his “performative” sculptures made of clay and wood, which also bear witness to something from the past, a fact visible in the materials themselves.

“Wir bleiben bis 1000 Uhr” is the third exhibition from the Kunstverein series “Einzelausstellung: Nicht alleine” (“Solo Exhibition: Not Alone”), in which curator Susanne Weiß incorporates references and influences from artistic positions into the exhibition. In 2012, this series included shows by Ulf Aminde and Heide Hinrichs.