Christian Schwarzwald
Stricher
03 Feb - 04 Mar 2017
CHRISTIAN SCHWARZWALD
Stricher
3 February 2017 – 4 March 2017
Christian Schwarzwald works in drawing. He sees it as a far-ranging medium without any limits and employs it as such. Since drawing means just about everything for Christian Schwarzwald he also draws everything in his universe of signs: formulas, writing, faces, maps, architecture, fruits,... Schwarzwald also shows a really great understanding of drawing, ranging from the simple sketch and graphic shorthand to complex editions, paintings, spatial pieces and installations. As a point of departure drawing is of course first and foremost something simple – everyone can draw. And for this reason he believes that drawing in particular is capable of developing the most diverse expressions in the visual arts, simply because it maintains the connection to primal “signs”, that is the very beginning of the description of the world. .
The exhibition STRICHER begins with a smug play on words relating to the foundation of drawing: the stroke – as opposed to the line – is something concrete, personal. Usually short, certainly finite, and most of the time also expressive in a certain sense. However, it also designates a person who sells himself (the body). A picture of the artist as a whore, the dirty business, for, according to Schwarzwald: “When you draw a stroke, you’re right in the middle of things. There is no more purity or objectivity. Making art also means: Getting your hands dirty!”
The Stricher exhibitions features the artist’s most recent series of works, including Vol.7:ODE a block of 500 small single drawings. This series is based on a minimalist logic and is strictly composed of individual strokes. It is a kind of CODE, or sign system, which always comes close to writing, but they are also very simplified images. It is an improvised exploration of drawing systems that originated in the individual stroke (black/white) but together, in all their plentitude, they produce a kind of text image. The entire work draws only on a pictorial logic and has no ciphered meanings. IT is a kind of study on the origin of writing and notation which ranges from the simples origins of signs to the complex formulas of modern-day science.
Schwarzwald studies these origins in his recent work that is derived from the simplest symbol of drawing: the stroke. The main room is governed by a sign system featuring abstract formulae, drawing images and text images. Just as most of today’s writing systems were developed as simplified, abstract versions of images (just think, for instance, of Egyptian hieroglyphs), today we find new combinations and definitions of image and text. As handwriting becomes more and more neglected, simple pictorial codes (emojis) are inserted in texts. With the use of new communication, text and language are mixed anew. Schwarzwald studies these phenomena in his Stricher exhibition by exploring various approaches to graphic notation.
In the newly opened edition space, Schwarzwald will be showing a selection of different graphic prints. Since his youth the artist has been interested in the production of editions and also studied graphic print at the University of Vienna. A special concern of his has been to present editions as a autonomous medium. His WICHT, SICH, in particular, features selected portfolio pieces and individual sheets. Three sheets were produced especially for the Edition Krinzinger that will be on offer for a preferential price for the duration of the exhibition
Christian Schwarzwald, born 1971 in Salzburg, lives and works in Berlin, Germany.
Stricher
3 February 2017 – 4 March 2017
Christian Schwarzwald works in drawing. He sees it as a far-ranging medium without any limits and employs it as such. Since drawing means just about everything for Christian Schwarzwald he also draws everything in his universe of signs: formulas, writing, faces, maps, architecture, fruits,... Schwarzwald also shows a really great understanding of drawing, ranging from the simple sketch and graphic shorthand to complex editions, paintings, spatial pieces and installations. As a point of departure drawing is of course first and foremost something simple – everyone can draw. And for this reason he believes that drawing in particular is capable of developing the most diverse expressions in the visual arts, simply because it maintains the connection to primal “signs”, that is the very beginning of the description of the world. .
The exhibition STRICHER begins with a smug play on words relating to the foundation of drawing: the stroke – as opposed to the line – is something concrete, personal. Usually short, certainly finite, and most of the time also expressive in a certain sense. However, it also designates a person who sells himself (the body). A picture of the artist as a whore, the dirty business, for, according to Schwarzwald: “When you draw a stroke, you’re right in the middle of things. There is no more purity or objectivity. Making art also means: Getting your hands dirty!”
The Stricher exhibitions features the artist’s most recent series of works, including Vol.7:ODE a block of 500 small single drawings. This series is based on a minimalist logic and is strictly composed of individual strokes. It is a kind of CODE, or sign system, which always comes close to writing, but they are also very simplified images. It is an improvised exploration of drawing systems that originated in the individual stroke (black/white) but together, in all their plentitude, they produce a kind of text image. The entire work draws only on a pictorial logic and has no ciphered meanings. IT is a kind of study on the origin of writing and notation which ranges from the simples origins of signs to the complex formulas of modern-day science.
Schwarzwald studies these origins in his recent work that is derived from the simplest symbol of drawing: the stroke. The main room is governed by a sign system featuring abstract formulae, drawing images and text images. Just as most of today’s writing systems were developed as simplified, abstract versions of images (just think, for instance, of Egyptian hieroglyphs), today we find new combinations and definitions of image and text. As handwriting becomes more and more neglected, simple pictorial codes (emojis) are inserted in texts. With the use of new communication, text and language are mixed anew. Schwarzwald studies these phenomena in his Stricher exhibition by exploring various approaches to graphic notation.
In the newly opened edition space, Schwarzwald will be showing a selection of different graphic prints. Since his youth the artist has been interested in the production of editions and also studied graphic print at the University of Vienna. A special concern of his has been to present editions as a autonomous medium. His WICHT, SICH, in particular, features selected portfolio pieces and individual sheets. Three sheets were produced especially for the Edition Krinzinger that will be on offer for a preferential price for the duration of the exhibition
Christian Schwarzwald, born 1971 in Salzburg, lives and works in Berlin, Germany.