Robert Kuśmirowski | Lindenstr. 35
29 Apr - 02 Sep 2017
Robert Kuśmirowski, DLH A.G., 2017, work on paper, 182 mm x 72 mm
© the artist, courtesy ŻAK | BRANICKA
© the artist, courtesy ŻAK | BRANICKA
ŻAK | BRANICKA is pleased to present in the frame of Gallery Weekend, Robert
Kuśmirowski’s "Lindenstr. 35". On this occasion, the gallery’s traditional space will vanish,
time will be shifted back about 80 years and history will be relived.
The year 2017 is of special significance for ŻAK | BRANICKA, that in 2007 had its debut with the
exhibition "Datamatic 880" in the Galerienhaus at Lindenstr. 35. Ten years later, Kuśmirowski will
once again transform the space of the gallery, this time with a project dedicated to the space and
the building.
In his practice, Robert Kuśmirowski blurs the line between fact and fiction. For this project, he uses
the history of the building as the starting point of his playful research. He collects, bends and
constructs these finely crafted time hiccups as a means to remind us that the past has a tendency
to repeat itself. He explores ideas of history and its representation as well as memory. But also
demonstrates in an uncanny way the artist’s self-identification with an imagined collective past.
Kuśmirowski uses the past as his raw material and simultaneously re-invents it through his use of
fake pictures, forgeries and unlikely materials that question our individual and collective memory
transforming the Present into his personal imaginary time capsule. Kuśmirowski assumes the
protagonist’s role in these imagined installations where he is the actor, the director and the
audience.
At the 4th Berlin Biennale his installation was modeled after train carriages used to transport
detainees to Auschwitz. He then created a life-size Bunker out of Barbican’s history and location – a
site that was devastated by bombings during World War II. And, with his newest project for ŻAK |
BRANICKA, Time as we know it travels back to the early dream of airtravel...
Opening: April 28, 2017, 6 - 9 pm
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Robert Kuśmirowski was born in 1973 in Łódź, Poland. He lives and works in Lublin. He is a performer, author
of installations, objects, photographs and drawings. His work has been shown in several institutions such as
Secession in Vienna (2003), Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin (2004), Kunsthalle Wien (2005), 4th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art (2006), Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2008), Torino Triennale (2008), Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2009 and 2012), Nottingham Contemporary (2010), Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2011), 3rd Biennale Tel Aviv (2011), 11th & 13th Biennale Lyon (2011, 2015), KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2012), among others. His solo shows include institutions such as Stedelijk Van Abbe Museum (2005), Kunstverein Hamburg (2006), Migros Museum, Zurich (2006), Barbican Art Gallery, London (2009) and Neuer Kunsteverein Wien (2016). His work is a part of several international collections such as the Boros Collection, The Olbricht Collection and the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection, to name a few.
Kuśmirowski’s "Lindenstr. 35". On this occasion, the gallery’s traditional space will vanish,
time will be shifted back about 80 years and history will be relived.
The year 2017 is of special significance for ŻAK | BRANICKA, that in 2007 had its debut with the
exhibition "Datamatic 880" in the Galerienhaus at Lindenstr. 35. Ten years later, Kuśmirowski will
once again transform the space of the gallery, this time with a project dedicated to the space and
the building.
In his practice, Robert Kuśmirowski blurs the line between fact and fiction. For this project, he uses
the history of the building as the starting point of his playful research. He collects, bends and
constructs these finely crafted time hiccups as a means to remind us that the past has a tendency
to repeat itself. He explores ideas of history and its representation as well as memory. But also
demonstrates in an uncanny way the artist’s self-identification with an imagined collective past.
Kuśmirowski uses the past as his raw material and simultaneously re-invents it through his use of
fake pictures, forgeries and unlikely materials that question our individual and collective memory
transforming the Present into his personal imaginary time capsule. Kuśmirowski assumes the
protagonist’s role in these imagined installations where he is the actor, the director and the
audience.
At the 4th Berlin Biennale his installation was modeled after train carriages used to transport
detainees to Auschwitz. He then created a life-size Bunker out of Barbican’s history and location – a
site that was devastated by bombings during World War II. And, with his newest project for ŻAK |
BRANICKA, Time as we know it travels back to the early dream of airtravel...
Opening: April 28, 2017, 6 - 9 pm
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Robert Kuśmirowski was born in 1973 in Łódź, Poland. He lives and works in Lublin. He is a performer, author
of installations, objects, photographs and drawings. His work has been shown in several institutions such as
Secession in Vienna (2003), Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin (2004), Kunsthalle Wien (2005), 4th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art (2006), Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2008), Torino Triennale (2008), Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2009 and 2012), Nottingham Contemporary (2010), Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2011), 3rd Biennale Tel Aviv (2011), 11th & 13th Biennale Lyon (2011, 2015), KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2012), among others. His solo shows include institutions such as Stedelijk Van Abbe Museum (2005), Kunstverein Hamburg (2006), Migros Museum, Zurich (2006), Barbican Art Gallery, London (2009) and Neuer Kunsteverein Wien (2016). His work is a part of several international collections such as the Boros Collection, The Olbricht Collection and the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection, to name a few.