Klemm's

"Fundament" - Alexej Meschtschanow / Adrian Sauer

29 Oct - 19 Nov 2005

The exhibition’s title – “Fundament” (foundation) – sounds quite massive, evoking the feeling of security and tradition: it seems to be something real. This idea proves true only in part for the works of Alexej Meschtschanow and Adrian Sauer. The foundation, on which they build, lies less in concrete forms but rather in open possibilities that their works reveal. Alexej Meschtschanow deprives his objects of their foundation in a very literal sense, but simultaneously provides them with a new corpus that gives them hold. In his ‘photographic paintings’ Adrian Sauer transfers the visible world into a digital reality that maybe has nothing in common with reality anymore, but nevertheless seems familiar.

Steel pipe, plastic and found objects are the raw material of the hybrid sculptures by Alexej Meschtschanow. His selected objects are by means of an exclusively designed steel construction elevated from the floor but at the same time grounded anew. Gravitation and control, corset and auxiliary construction are its coordinates. In this double-cross things seem to be detached from their grounding. Or, do they suffer through the added construction mass of a ‘grounded’ mania? Do the auxiliary constructions display careful adhesion or do they abuse their objects? Another secret stays the physically tangible presence of the art pieces. They disclose their aura through the materially associative connection and condensation that Alexej Meschtschanow inscribes into his objects. Objects that do not belong together are forced into commonness – and... give in, prevailing the space around.


Adrian Sauer’s pictures claim prevalence of space as well. He uses the conception of photography as constituent for his works. In his work he reacts to the contemporary deference in dealing with photography by leading common conceptions of reality and immediacy into the absurd. By means of adequate but digitally generated and classified colors photography serves him as a sketch-board for eventually finding a virtual imagery. What once had indeed existed disappears behind the surface of the surrogate. Thus, Sauer perfections the unfinished while leaving the essence of the parts revealed untouched. The idea of photography only remains a homogenized and filtered memory. The familiar security that emerges in dealing daily with the first technical medium of picture is hence latently undermined.

The exhibition will be opened 10/29/2005 at 6 p.m. and can be visited until 11/19/2005.
 

Tags: Alexej Meschtschanow, Adrian Sauer