WHAT IS SPACE? WHAT IS TIME? W...
What is space? What is time? With what means can these abstract terms be manifested?Jan Scharrelmann's sculptures present an embodiment of space and time.
They do not only react to the site-specific qualities of the exhibition space, but also create for the viewer an almost new dimensionality and experience of the direct surroundings. The viewer takes on his or her usual (viewing) position, but the longer they engage themselves in the work, the more they have the impression of assuming a roll in the interaction between the sculpture and its environment - of even becoming a part of the sculpture itself.
Scharrellmann (*1975) uses models to determine the correct proportions before he begins constructing a sculpture. Even if his sculptures, at first glance, recall Richard Serra's rough, hermetic steel sculptures, their material and treatment refer to significant differences. The artist's basic materials are insulating mats and polystyrene panels made from pale-colored hemp and virgin wool fibers. He applies iridescent aluminum, graphite and color pigments in epoxy, which gives the sculptures a painterly treatment. The result is a soft core with a hard, shimmering shell.
On second glance, the sculptures reveal areas where the pigment varies in its application. You notice a striae, a splintering. Yet these supposed faults are in no way errors: They are references to the traces left behind by time - independent of the dominance and liveliness of the objects.
At Klara Wallner Galerie, Jan Scharrelmann will present small works together with a room-sized installation in his exhibition “Dreader than Dead”. The artist leves and works in Cologne, he studied at the art shools Karlsruhe and Düsseldorf.(Desirée Pitrowski)