Jonathan Meese
"Dr. No Sportarzahn (Evolutionsschritt De Fit)“
13 Nov 2015 - 30 Jan 2016
Jonathan Meese
"Dr. No Sportarzahn (Evolutionsschritt De Fit)“
13 November 2015 – 30 January 2016
"DR. NO SPORTARZAHN (EVOLUTIONSSCHRITT DE FIT)“ is the fifth solo show of Jonathan Meese to take place at Galerie Krinzinger, following the exhibitions “ERZHAGENERZ ERZVONERZ ERZTRONJERZ” LIEBT NUR DEN GESICHTSAUSDRUCK “KUNST”, VOOM. (ERZTRÜFFELSCHWEINCHEN “SCHLAU” GEFÄLLT NUR DER KUNST, BASTA) KUNST UNGLEICH EXTREMSPORT...(2012), „DON’T CALL US, WE CALL YOU (2007), “Solo für Onkel Schnapp-Gebiss” (2004), “Van Gogh 1924 (Selbstbildnis mit Spindel)” (2001).
It is the first time that Meese will be showing a group of new sculptures, paintings and drawings that revolve around “sports”. The artist is especially captivated by the ideological connotations and the deconstruction of this term. With his statement “In the sports of art the only winner is sports and thus also art”, he takes issue with the idea of competition along with its hidden political-religious implications. The ideal of the athletic body is called into question, not just in terms of its potential material but also its military benefits. For Jonathan Meese “sports” is pure play, play for its own sake, which also includes physical activity in a sexual or metabolic context.
As he did frequently in his earlier work, the artist has more recently also worked with archaic imagery in his formal deconstructions, in this case taken from the realm of sport. The sculptures “Diskus”, “Hürde” and “Ball” make references to the classical Olympic disciplines of light athletics. His figures seem caught in absurd movements or bound to a piece of sports equipment. The cool effect of aluminum makes them seem frozen. In painting, by contrast, the bodies are completely dissolved in lines and paint, which appear to have spread over the surface by themselves. The artist displays a complete disinterest in the staged cult of the body. In his 2010 series of ballet drawings, Meese addressed the power of seduction as part of the play with the body. Here the eroticism of the uniform is under the sway of the sprightly movement of the dancers’ bodies drifting in the space.
Jonathan Meese who was born 1970 in Tokyo, lives and works in Berlin and London. He has had some important solo exhibitions including: Nationalgalerie Prague, Prague (2015), Museum der Moderne, Salzburg (2013), at the Akademie der Künste, Vienna (2012), the Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin (2011), at the Museum of Contemporary Art Miami (2010), Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe (2007), Essl Museum, Klosterneuburg (2007) Deuchtorhallen, Hamburg (2006), Farnz Hals Museum, Haarlem (2006), Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen (2005), Performance und Bühnenbild, Staatsober Unter den Linden, Berlin (2005), Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt am Main (2004). Performances und Lectures (selected): National Gallery, Prag (2015), Gespräch mit H. Falckenberg, Roter Salon, Volksbühne, Berlin (2015), München Literaturhaus (2014), Lit Cologne, Köln, (2014), Mannheimer Nationaltheater, Mannheim (2013), Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv (2013), Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Berlin (2012), Akademie der Künste Wien, Vienna (2012), Donaufestival, Krems (2011), Staatsschauspiel, Dresden, (2001), Schelma Haus, Düsseldorf (2010), Akademie der Bildenden Künste, München (2009), Studio Matthew Barney, New York (2007), Turbin Hall, Tate Modern, London (2006), Staatsoper unter den Linden, Berlin (2005), Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel, Munich (2000), Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt am Main (1098). Jonathan Meese has also participated in a number of group exhibitions at museums/institutions such as: Lentos Kunstmuseum, Linz (2015), Kiasma Museum for Contemporary Art, Helsinki (2015), Museum Volkwang, Essen (2014), Ludwig Museum Budapest (2014), MARTa Herford, Herford (2014), Jewish Museum Vienna (2013), 21er Haus, Wien (2012), Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Wien (2010), Sammlung Falckenberg, Kunststiftung Phoenix Art, Hamburg (2008), Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (2005), Saatchi Collection, London (2004) and many more.
"Dr. No Sportarzahn (Evolutionsschritt De Fit)“
13 November 2015 – 30 January 2016
"DR. NO SPORTARZAHN (EVOLUTIONSSCHRITT DE FIT)“ is the fifth solo show of Jonathan Meese to take place at Galerie Krinzinger, following the exhibitions “ERZHAGENERZ ERZVONERZ ERZTRONJERZ” LIEBT NUR DEN GESICHTSAUSDRUCK “KUNST”, VOOM. (ERZTRÜFFELSCHWEINCHEN “SCHLAU” GEFÄLLT NUR DER KUNST, BASTA) KUNST UNGLEICH EXTREMSPORT...(2012), „DON’T CALL US, WE CALL YOU (2007), “Solo für Onkel Schnapp-Gebiss” (2004), “Van Gogh 1924 (Selbstbildnis mit Spindel)” (2001).
It is the first time that Meese will be showing a group of new sculptures, paintings and drawings that revolve around “sports”. The artist is especially captivated by the ideological connotations and the deconstruction of this term. With his statement “In the sports of art the only winner is sports and thus also art”, he takes issue with the idea of competition along with its hidden political-religious implications. The ideal of the athletic body is called into question, not just in terms of its potential material but also its military benefits. For Jonathan Meese “sports” is pure play, play for its own sake, which also includes physical activity in a sexual or metabolic context.
As he did frequently in his earlier work, the artist has more recently also worked with archaic imagery in his formal deconstructions, in this case taken from the realm of sport. The sculptures “Diskus”, “Hürde” and “Ball” make references to the classical Olympic disciplines of light athletics. His figures seem caught in absurd movements or bound to a piece of sports equipment. The cool effect of aluminum makes them seem frozen. In painting, by contrast, the bodies are completely dissolved in lines and paint, which appear to have spread over the surface by themselves. The artist displays a complete disinterest in the staged cult of the body. In his 2010 series of ballet drawings, Meese addressed the power of seduction as part of the play with the body. Here the eroticism of the uniform is under the sway of the sprightly movement of the dancers’ bodies drifting in the space.
Jonathan Meese who was born 1970 in Tokyo, lives and works in Berlin and London. He has had some important solo exhibitions including: Nationalgalerie Prague, Prague (2015), Museum der Moderne, Salzburg (2013), at the Akademie der Künste, Vienna (2012), the Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin (2011), at the Museum of Contemporary Art Miami (2010), Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe (2007), Essl Museum, Klosterneuburg (2007) Deuchtorhallen, Hamburg (2006), Farnz Hals Museum, Haarlem (2006), Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen (2005), Performance und Bühnenbild, Staatsober Unter den Linden, Berlin (2005), Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt am Main (2004). Performances und Lectures (selected): National Gallery, Prag (2015), Gespräch mit H. Falckenberg, Roter Salon, Volksbühne, Berlin (2015), München Literaturhaus (2014), Lit Cologne, Köln, (2014), Mannheimer Nationaltheater, Mannheim (2013), Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv (2013), Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Berlin (2012), Akademie der Künste Wien, Vienna (2012), Donaufestival, Krems (2011), Staatsschauspiel, Dresden, (2001), Schelma Haus, Düsseldorf (2010), Akademie der Bildenden Künste, München (2009), Studio Matthew Barney, New York (2007), Turbin Hall, Tate Modern, London (2006), Staatsoper unter den Linden, Berlin (2005), Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel, Munich (2000), Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt am Main (1098). Jonathan Meese has also participated in a number of group exhibitions at museums/institutions such as: Lentos Kunstmuseum, Linz (2015), Kiasma Museum for Contemporary Art, Helsinki (2015), Museum Volkwang, Essen (2014), Ludwig Museum Budapest (2014), MARTa Herford, Herford (2014), Jewish Museum Vienna (2013), 21er Haus, Wien (2012), Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Wien (2010), Sammlung Falckenberg, Kunststiftung Phoenix Art, Hamburg (2008), Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (2005), Saatchi Collection, London (2004) and many more.