HMKV Hartware MedienKunstVerein

The Brutalism Appreciation Society

08 Apr - 24 Sep 2017

The Laboratory of Manuel Bürger
Photo: Demolition #1 Queen Elizabeth Flats by Simon Chirgwin
THE BRUTALISM APPRECIATION SOCIETY
8 April – 24 September 2017

Curated by Inke Arns

The radical architectural style of Brutalism first emerged in Britain in the mid-1950s. Its hallmarks are unrendered concrete walls and exposed building materials such as metal, stone and brick. Today it is gradually disappearing from our city skylines, as the largely unlisted buildings are pulled down. At the same time, supporters of the style have started coming together – particularly online. Among them is the Facebook group “The Brutalism Appreciation Society”, which campaigns to preserve these features of 1950s and 1960s town planning, and now has more than 50,000 members worldwide.

The exhibition The Brutalism Appreciation Society, curated by Inke Arns, showcases 21 works by international artists, responding to the Brutalist architectural style of post-war modernity, as well as selected posts from the eponymous Facebook group.

The 21 participating artists come from 11 countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Great Britain, Croatia, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, the Czech Republic and the USA.

Bettina Allamoda (US/DE)
Jordi Colomer (ES)
Darco FBI (DE/FR)
EVOL (DE)
Darko Fritz (HR)
Anne-Valérie Gasc (FR)
Niklas Goldbach (DE)
Freya Hattenberger & Peter Simon (DE/PL)
Alekos Hofstetter (DE)
Martin Kohout (CZ)
Aglaia Konrad (AT/BE)
Nicolas Moulin (FR)
Reto Müller (CH)
Andrea Pichl (DE)
Heidi Specker (DE)
Philip Topolovac (DE)
Kay Walkowiak (AT)
Ruben Woodin Dechamps & Oscar Hudson (UK)
Tobias Zielony (DE)

In addition to artistic media such as sculptures, videos, video installations, soundscapes, street art and photography, the exhibition space features a large-scale graffiti work by the internationally renowned, Paris-based graffiti artist Darco FBI. The work has been developed onsite at the HMKV, and is a defining design element of the exhibition.
 

Tags: Bettina Allamoda, Inke Arns, Jordi Colomer, Ruben Woodin Dechamps, Darko Fritz, Anne-Valérie Gasc, Niklas Goldbach, Freya Hattenberger, Alekos Hofstetter, Oscar Hudson, Martin Kohout, Aglaia Konrad, Nicolas Moulin, Reto Müller, Andrea Pichl, Peter Simon, Heidi Specker, Philip Topolovac, Kay Walkowiak, Tobias Zielony