FIAC 2o14
SAÂDANE AFIF JOHN M ARMLEDER PHILIPPE DECRAUZAT MARTIN DISLER HANS-PETER FELDMANN SYLVIE FLEURY MATHIEU MERCIER GEROLD MILLER CHARLOTTE POSENENSKE GERWALD ROCKENSCHAUB GITTE SCHÄFER and N. DASH
The concept of translation is key to Saâdane Afif’s work. Travelling to Sharjah, he ordered furniture made of arish, the local palm leaves. Upon Afif’s instructions, the carpenter followed the concepts Enzo Mari sketched in his booklet „Proposal for Self-Design“. The resulting furniture merges 1970’s Italian design with Saudi artisanal heritage, as a hybrid of tradition and modernity. The English transcript of a French and Arabic conversation between Afif, the carpenter and a translator emphasises the many layers of the project.
Heritage, 2013 Palm leaves and offset print on paper Each 85 x 58 x 58 cm; 33.46 x 22.83 x 22.38 in Unique piece; Certificate signed by the artist
SAĂ‚DANE AFIF
JOHN M ARMLEDER Cheshire Beagle, 2014 Mixed media on canvas 140 x 90 cm 55.12 x 35.43 in Unique piece Signed verso: John Armleder, Cheshire Beagle, 2014
In his paintings, John M Armleder uses existing forms as quotes in order to focus on the semantic shift of the once radical avant-garde concepts and techniques in the era of postmodernism. Being part of the Neo-Geo movement in the early 1980’s, Armleder surprised the art world shortly thereafter with very expressive paintings in the style of American artist Larry Poons (1912-1962). For his “Pour Paintings” Armleder pours different kinds of colours and lacquers onto a tilted canvas, using both randomness and control, hence referring to abstract expressionism while neglecting its underlying existentialist content.
N. Dash Untitled, 2014 Adobe, string, pigment, oil, acrylic, jute, linen and wood support 186.69 x 139.70 cm 73.50 x 55 in Unique piece Certificate signed by the artist
With the constant act of handling a swatch of fabric, Dash transforms the weave into sculpture through wear and the residue of the oil and dirt from her fingertips. The handling of the material has a generative purpose. It reveals something essential to her about the nature of the object, the essence of which resonates in her large scale works. She allows the materials in the paintings to speak for themselves, emanating near-contradictory dichotomies: the careful casualness of their construction; the use of raw pigments and paint that result in refined fields of colour; the play upon format and the interchangeability among parts, though fixed, lends each work the sense that it is patiently at rest just for the moment when it is viewed.
PHILIPPE DECRAUZAT Suite, 2014 Diptych, acrylic on canvas 291 x 69 cm and 291 x 66 cm 114.57 x 27.17 in and 114.57 x 25.98 in Unique piece Certificate signed by the artist
The work by Philippe Decrauzat is characterised by the investigation of geometric forms and their relation to space. A fundamental part of his work is the optical illusion and the use of specially shaped canvases. Relying upon an extensive visual vocabulary built from the legacy of Geometric Abstraction, Decrauzat seamlessly blends a palette of optical effects to “investigate the status of the image.� In this work, Decrauzat applies black lines to a shaped canvas, resulting in a piece that seems continuously to fold and unfold. Both parts represent the same waves, interrupted by the void between the panels.
MARTIN DISLER Untitled, 1991 Acrylic on canvas 250 x 225 cm 98.43 x 88.58 in Unique piece Signed verso, centre left with black marker: disler 91
The Swiss artist Martin Disler (1949-1996) must be considered a major figure of the European painting scene which emerged in the late 1970’s. Autodidact, his oeuvre bears a powerful, even existential burdensomeness, an almost intoxicating rigour. Physical being, primarily that of the artist himself, is very much at play in his visual language, which carries palpable traces of his excessive and unsparing life. The anticipation of death permeates his entire oeuvre, as do moments of a great hunger for life. Both form Disler’s illusion-free vision of the condition humaine.
HANS-PETER FELDMANN Painting, nude lying on her stomach with tan lines, after Boucher (detail) Oil on linen, framed 75 x 91 cm 29.53 x 35.83 in
For years, Hans-Peter Feldmann has been collecting original oil paintings from the 19th century, mainly portraits. By gently painting over the pictures, Feldmann shifts the genre from traditional depiction to a post-modern caricature, adding for instance clown noses or crossed eyes to the faces, as well as bikini tan lines to the nudes. Beyond an iconoclasm steeped in the legacy of Dada, this series compares the aesthetic ideals of the 19th century against ours, revealing our present connection to images.
SYLVIE FLEURY Large Chromo Quartz 2, 2001 Plexiglass, neon 117 x 80 x 65 cm 46.06 x 31.49 x 25.59 in Unique piece Certificate signed by the artist
Through her approach of fashion and accessories, Sylvie Fleury is fascinated by the concept of surface. Esotericism being the surface of the soul, the artist was naturally drawn to this aesthetic. Beautifully hypnotic, Large Chromo Quartz 2 invites us to dig below the surface, within ourselves, to the innermost. Just like shopping bags, they are tools which make us every day stronger.
GEROLD MILLER set. 158, set. 157, 2013 Aluminium, lacquered Each 39 x 31.2 x 2.5 cm Each 15.35 x 12.28 x 0.98 in Unique piece Signed verso below in the centre: G. Miller 2013
Gerold Miller’s series set. represents a shift in his work. Miller has been concerned with the most fundamental questions of sculpture, relief and painting, placing a void at the centre of his works. For this new series, he closes his sculptures to create a rectangular wall object that seems a painting. Each piece represents the same form, playing on different variations of a high-gloss car lacquer colour palette. An oblong sheet seems to float over the surface, casting its shadow over it and creating a three dimensional effect. These visually concise, monochromatic works show Miller’s further development of a vibrant combination of painting and sculpture, using high tech materials found in industrial production.
Series B Relief, 1967-2008 Aluminium, convexly angled, RAL red spray paint each 100 x 50 x 14 cm each 39.37 x 19.69 x 5.51 in Authorised reconstruction certified by the estate
CHARLOTTE POSENENSKE
The Series B Reliefs are modular elements, all using primary colours and either convex or concave forms for interacting with the surrounding architecture. In 1967 Posenenske developed the concept for these modular sculptures, which includes the interaction with her works, allowing the free combination of shapes and colours without giving instructions. They can be hung vertical, horizontal, and with different distances between them. Charlotte Posenenske (1930-1985) was active in Germany in the 1950’s and 1960’s, her work has been rediscovered lately. Considered as being a key figure position between Minimal Art and Conceptual Art, she has been influencing younger generations with her concept of modularity.
Gerwald Rockenschaub has collected an extensive cache of reductionist geometric forms, colour concepts, computer animated loops, and industrial techniques which he uses to realise his personal visual vocabulary in a range of media. This work consists of an oblong box, closed on four sides. Its only opening is a hole at the back, meant to hang the work on a brass hook. The side and the back of the box are made of translucent dark blue perspex, contrasting with the opaque white front.
Acrylic glass box and brass hook, 1990–91 Acrylic glass, brass 32 x 25 x 7 cm 12.60 x 9.84 x 2.76 in Unique piece Certificate signed by the artist
GERWALD ROCKENSCHAUB
GITTE SCHÄFER Sfinx, 2013 Wood, velvet fabric, brass and stone 191 x 41 x 9 cm 75.20 x 16.14 x 3.54 in Unique piece Certificate signed by the artist
The poet Alphonse de Lamartine once wrote: “Objets inanimés avez-vous donc une âme?“ Through her sculptures, Gitte Schäfer is asking the exact same question. Her work results from a close examination of mythology, religion, folk art, superstition and fairy tales, which formally translates into abstract or geometric forms that could as well be interpreted in a spiritual way. Sfinx refers to both Greek and Egyptian traditions, but it is also a metaphysical consideration, based on the monster’s riddle in the tragedy, thus unveiling Schäfer’s multi-layered creative process.
Front cover: Saâdane Afif Heritage, 2013 (detail) Title page: Gerold Miller set. 243, 2014 Stainless steel, lacquered 95 x 76 x 5 cm 37.4 x 29.92 x 1.97 in Unique piece Signed verso below in the centre: G. Miller 2014 Opposite page: Mathieu Mercier Exhibition view Kunstmuseum Sankt Gallen, 2014
This catalogue was published on the occasion of FIAC, Paris October 23 to 26, 2014 Booth 0.A43 – also available as eBook on www.mehdi-chouakri.com Booth design by David Saik, Berlin Photographs by Stefan Rohner, St. Gallen Annik Wetter, Geneva Jan Windszus, Berlin
All works © the artists and courtesy Mehdi Chouakri Gallery 1000 copies Printed by Spree Druck, Berlin
Back cover: Saâdane Afif Heritage, 2013 (detail)
Galerie Mehdi Chouakri Invalidenstrasse 117 10115 Berlin T + 49 30 28 39 11 53 F + 49 30 28 39 11 54 galerie@mehdi-chouakri.com www.mehdi-chouakri.com
FIAC 2o14