Maja Vukoje / Ene-Liis Semper
11 Dec 2009 - 16 Jan 2010
MAJA VUKOJE / ENE-LIIS SEMPER
December 11, 2009 to January 16, 2010
Opening: Thursday, December 10, 2009, 7:00 PM
From December 11, 2009 to 16 January 16, 2010, Galerie Martin Janda is showing new work by Maja Vukoje and Ene-Liis Semper.
Maja Vukoje’s new paintings address the themes glamour, elegance and (self-)representation. The large-format work Cinderella Favela (2009) depicts a figure in an opulent, pink robe in front of a shack. The ground is covered with litter, the dwelling humble. The person’s body language is proud and self-confident. At the same time she is diaphanous, her representation transparent; she is absent and present in equal degree. Maja Vukoje makes reference to self-dramatization as a socio-political gesture: “The sublime as the antithesis to the profane is a trait of much post-colonial phenomena that fascinates me, such as the artistic metamorphosis seen at the Caribbean Mardi Gras or in Congolese dandies from the slums of Brazzaville.”
10 Divas (2009), a mixed-media work, depicts legendary soul and bolero singers. The paintings explore how the persona is represented in the media, with a focus on gestures, movement and fashion, spanning from the 1960s to the present day. By grappling with “the other”, Vukoje seeks to illuminate the psycho-social function of affectation and an the significance of magic in contemporary image making.
Maja Vukoje, born 1969 in Düsseldorf, childhood in Belgrade, based in Vienna.
On the gallery’s lower level, we are showing a new video by Ene-Liis Semper: Was macht mein Zuhause aus (2009; 13 min) tells the story of a woman who dreams of a new home. She purchases chairs from an antique store for the new home. In her mind’s eye, it will be spacious, bright and lofty. The woman, who is depicted as a silhouette, collects other items of furniture, chairs, sofas, and three pianos. Although she invests all of her energy in creating a home, she seems alienated and isolated, even from her children. Her urge to collect becomes an obsession; she stacks one piece of furniture atop the next and then vanishes, as if into a cave. The video revolves around the meaning of home (is it a place, objects, a person?), but does not adhere rigidly to the narration. As in her previous work, Ene-Liis Semper creates an abstract realm; this allows her to thematize the inner and outer fragility of the human psyche.
Ene-Liis Semper was born 1969 in Tallinn, Estonia and is currently based there.
December 11, 2009 to January 16, 2010
Opening: Thursday, December 10, 2009, 7:00 PM
From December 11, 2009 to 16 January 16, 2010, Galerie Martin Janda is showing new work by Maja Vukoje and Ene-Liis Semper.
Maja Vukoje’s new paintings address the themes glamour, elegance and (self-)representation. The large-format work Cinderella Favela (2009) depicts a figure in an opulent, pink robe in front of a shack. The ground is covered with litter, the dwelling humble. The person’s body language is proud and self-confident. At the same time she is diaphanous, her representation transparent; she is absent and present in equal degree. Maja Vukoje makes reference to self-dramatization as a socio-political gesture: “The sublime as the antithesis to the profane is a trait of much post-colonial phenomena that fascinates me, such as the artistic metamorphosis seen at the Caribbean Mardi Gras or in Congolese dandies from the slums of Brazzaville.”
10 Divas (2009), a mixed-media work, depicts legendary soul and bolero singers. The paintings explore how the persona is represented in the media, with a focus on gestures, movement and fashion, spanning from the 1960s to the present day. By grappling with “the other”, Vukoje seeks to illuminate the psycho-social function of affectation and an the significance of magic in contemporary image making.
Maja Vukoje, born 1969 in Düsseldorf, childhood in Belgrade, based in Vienna.
On the gallery’s lower level, we are showing a new video by Ene-Liis Semper: Was macht mein Zuhause aus (2009; 13 min) tells the story of a woman who dreams of a new home. She purchases chairs from an antique store for the new home. In her mind’s eye, it will be spacious, bright and lofty. The woman, who is depicted as a silhouette, collects other items of furniture, chairs, sofas, and three pianos. Although she invests all of her energy in creating a home, she seems alienated and isolated, even from her children. Her urge to collect becomes an obsession; she stacks one piece of furniture atop the next and then vanishes, as if into a cave. The video revolves around the meaning of home (is it a place, objects, a person?), but does not adhere rigidly to the narration. As in her previous work, Ene-Liis Semper creates an abstract realm; this allows her to thematize the inner and outer fragility of the human psyche.
Ene-Liis Semper was born 1969 in Tallinn, Estonia and is currently based there.