Olafur Eliasson
Very very very beautiful:::
Andersen_s
BENANDSEBASTIAN ’MADE IN RUINS’
BENANDSEBASTIAN ’MADE IN RUINS’
Bendixen contemporary art is pleased to announce the opening of the solo exhibition Made in Ruins by ‘benandsebastian’.
The artists / architects behind the inter-disciplinary group ‘benandsebastian’ are Ben Clement (GB) and Sebastian de la Cour (DK). At their first solo exhibition at bendixen contemporary art they’ll be showing a new architectonic sculpture that once again invites the spectator to explore benandsebastian’s characteristic and complex universe.
benandsebastian’s fascination with urban and architectural subjects is evident in the exhibition Made in Ruins, where they examine the fragmented qualities of a deconstructed ruin.
‘benandsebastian’ have created a beautiful and well-crafted spindle staircase, which doesn’t seem to lead anywhere; on the contrary, it seems to fall apart. Underneath the stair’s functional steps there exist complex, underlying constructions with their own extensive urban structures. In this very spatially-orientated sculpture, the inner, complex constructions appear in a wonderful and yet disturbing contrast to the solid and coherent baluster, casing and skirting boards.
As the title Made in Ruins reveals, the subject of time is of great importance. Even though the the broken spindle staircase stands as if frozen in time, the exposed parts of the sculpture leads the imagination past the frozen present and towards unknown tales of a past and a future.
In many ways Made in Ruins seems to trifle deal with questions about the power struggle between the inner and outer constructions, between construction and deconstruction, and finally between beauty and decay.
The inter-disciplinary artist group ‘benandsebastian’ are able to embrace the boundaries between art and architecture in a very characteristic way. This is not only due to the fact that they can excite the curiosity and fascination of the spectator in a superior manner; ‘benandsebastian’s works of art become architectonical and sculpturally interesting because they can play so brilliantly with different scales, materials and have a high standard of craftsmanship. There works of art also become artistically interesting because they not only focus on aesthetics, but are also able to incorporate political, ethical and cultural motives in their sculptural works.
Ben Clement (1981) and Sebastian de la Cour (1980) live and work in Copenhagen and are both graduates from The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College in London. They have been working together for the past three years as the artist duo ‘benandsebastian’ and in 2008 received several national prizes and awards for their artworks. ‘benandsebastian’ were the exhibition designers for the recent Fifty/Fifty SE exhibition and will be participating at several other exhibitions this year, for example at the Museum of Modern Art (Roskilde), Kunsthal Charlottenborg and Riot Pilot (Copenhagen). Just recently they have also contributed to the artists’ paper Internationalistisk Ideale #2, which was released in connection to the exhibition Utopia, at Arken – Museum of Modern Art.
ERIK PARKER CRISIS CREATION
ERIK PARKER CRISIS CREATION
Paul Kasmin Gallery is pleased to announce an upcoming exhibition of Erik Parker’s new paintings, entitled “Crisis Creation” from February 26th- March 28th, with an opening reception on March 5th, 6-8 p.m. This exhibition marks the artist’s first at Paul Kasmin Gallery, and the artist’s first solo exhibition of new paintings in New York City since 2005.
Employing a unique amorphous architecture to his work, Parker creates bold and graphic semi-portraiture. These paintings begin with a bright, geometric background, layered upon with seemingly-random drips, dollops, beads and blotches. The result is an anthropomorphic figure, composed of various shapes, which only hint at conventional countenance. Facial features emerge from gaping portholes, rising to the foreground, while contemporaneously melting into one another. The dichotomy inherent to his visual vocabulary is stunning –vividly colorful forms stretching towards the viewer, hallucinogenic visuals come to mind, yet all the while keeping a sense of chaotic coalescence. Amidst these polarities, Parker impressively cultivates a unique visual experience for the viewer.
While maintaining his individual sense of space and dynamism, Parker is deeply influenced by a variety of subcultures ranging from underground comics, illustration, graffiti and music. The fluid, intense visuals of Parker’s works are informed in part by the patchwork of musical sources he listens to, none more evident than psychedelic rock. Furthermore, in his studio, Parker is often listening to lectures and discussions on conspiracy theory – the ultimate foray into layered accounts and suggestions of human participation. Consequently, the obvious shapes and colors, with cartoon-like doodles combine to create a vocabulary of “ordered disorder” – here, Parker’s talent continues to blossom in this new collection of work.
Based in New York, Erik Parker was born in Stuttgart, Germany and studied at the University of Austin, Texas, and SUNY Purchase. He has exhibited throughout the world, most recently in Amsterdam, Tokyo, Copenhagen and Zurich. Parker participated in “Greater New York” at P.S.1 in 2000, and is included in the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York (The Judith Rothschild Foundation’s Contemporary Drawings Collection).
It’s Raining Men…!
It’s Raining Men…!
Jesper Just, Martin Erik Andersen, Alexander Tovborg, Ferdinand Krag, Simon Dybbroe Møller (Maria Loboda), Ulrik Heltoft, Ulrik Møller, Ulrik Weck, Peter Holst Henckel, Kaspar Bonnén, Troels Sandegård.
