NGU S E FU
ULSION M
NMA H JO
DER E L M R
mehdi chouakri
Concerning Fungus Emulsion ... three weeks later multiple fax pages arrived with sketches for the new paintings. Within an hour we found a studio space in a 1960s building in Wedding.We were able to order the necessary special metal stretchers and the canvas only from Switzerland. Running out of time, we had them sent unmounted by messenger, but due to the Easter holidays and customs clearance, the delivery took much longer than planned. Pierre got to work immediately: mounting, priming, painting,The grid composition runs either horizontal or vertical. Dots or rectangles, two-toned or in different color gradations.They cause optical effects and they seem to be moving at closer view. Since the 1970s Armleder has been engaging himself with geometry, however, in an undogmatic way, more concerned with the “visual material“ of his art. Similar to his expressive-elegant “Pour Paintings“ or “Puddle Paintings“ series. John M Armleder (*1948 in Geneva) gained recognition as an artist with his concept of bringing objects from everyday and art history together and declaring them as instruments of his art. For him there is no classification in terms of “quality“, they just result from a conflation of cultural sub-phenomena, such as deco products or B movies. His oeuvre encompasses paintings, sculptures, large-scale installations, as well as an immense group of wall paintings.Two of such wall paintings can be viewed in our exhibition. In the meantime Pierre is getting some help in the studio to finish the 11 paintings.The wall paintings at the gallery take a lot of time, despite their seemingly simple composition with diagonal rectangles.They partially stretch over the entire wall, but they finish in the middle of the opposing wall... Meanwhile it‘s the evening of April 22, John arrives at Tegel airport, where I am waiting for him. His oversized Rimowa suitcase is almost empty, he only brought it along to have it repaired at a store on Meinekestrasse. Now we are counting down to the exhibition. Just a few days to go until Gallery Weekend starts. Most of the paintings are done now, but the wall painting remains the biggest challenge for Pierre, Anne-Cecile, Xavier and Isabelle. On Monday John and I are at the new Planet Modulor, a specialty store for creative areas. We find a room divider by Oziol, which we might integrate in our next exhibition. At the neighboring Minimum, a design shop, John discovers a colorful carpet by HAY which is made of small chubby wool balls made in Nepal. Combined with the large grid painting it will form a “Furniture Sculpture“. We drive to the gallery with our loot, where the young team is eagerly waiting to meet John. There are also the two large metal slides that have been just delivered.Together with the silver-pink dot painting sized 280 x 170 cm it will become another composition. In the evening John and I go to the new Pauly Saal: a light meal and a good atmosphere.The next day John would like to go to KaDeWe and look at silk flowers, this we plan for the early afternoon. For almost three years my computer, my IPad and my Iphone ring daily at noon with the same ICal notification: John. Sylvie and I have set this up together to send him good thoughts for a quick recovery when John was seriously ill in the hospital. He is doing much better now, but I just can‘t get myself to delete the ICal-reminder.This week it reminds me that I have to call him at 12pm at the Hotel Bristol, before that it‘s too early for him. I pick him up around 4pm and we go to get the artificial flowers. The saleswoman, Mrs. Ohnesorge, takes care of us well and we find everything very quickly. Afterwards we go to the Idee Kreativ Markt and buy chains, tapes and other different materials that John would like to use in his next paintings. It‘s Thursday April 26 in the meantime.There are eight people working on the wall paintings by now. Unfortunately, there have been some complications, but everything needs to be finished by the evening. My ICall is ringing and I have to call John, who wants to give me the last directions regarding the hanging of the works. He would like to title his works after names of casino games.Years ago he had sent me a postcard of a casino on Potsdamer Platz, which he had taken to Geneva. Mehdi Chouakri – April 2012
Craps, 2012 Acrylic on canvas 90 x 90 cm (variable hanging orientation) Signed verso: “Craps, John Armleder, 2012”
Bingo, 2012 Acrylic on canvas 280 x 170 cm or 170 x 280 cm Signed verso: “Bingo, John Armleder, 2012“
Let it ride (Furniture Sculpture), 2012 Two metal slides and acrylic on canvas 344 x 273 x 316 cm Signed verso: “Let it ride, John Armleder, 2012�
Chuck-a-luck (Furniture Sculpture), 2012 Acrylic on canvas and Hay Pinocchio carpet 300 x 280 x 114 cm Canvas: 280 x 160 cm, carpet Ø 140 cm Signed verso: “Chuck-a-luck, John Armleder, 2012”
Big Six Wheel, 2012 Acrylic on canvas 280 x 170 cm or 170 x 280 cm Signed verso: “Big Six Wheel, John Armleder, 2012”
Chase Beezy, 2012 Acrylic on canvas 280 x 170 cm or 170 x 280 cm Signed verso: “Chase Beezy, John Armleder, 2012”
Right Fan-Tan, 2012 Acrylic on canvas 110 x 110 cm Signed verso: “Fan-Tan, John Armleder, 2012”
This catalogue was published on the occasion of John M Armleder‘s exhibition Fungus Emulsion at the Mehdi Chouakri Gallery, Berlin, April 27 – June 16, 2012
Front cover Big Six Wheel, 2012 (detail) Acrylic on canvas 280 x 170 cm or 170 x 280 cm Signed verso: “Big Six Wheel, John Armleder, 2012”
All works © John M Armleder and courtesy Mehdi Chouakri Gallery
Back cover Jack-Pot, 2012 (detail) Acrylic on canvas 90 x 90 cm (variable hanging orientation) Signed verso: “Jack-Pot, John Armleder, 2012”
Photographs by Jan Windszus, Berlin
1000 copies Printed by Spree Druck, Berlin This catalogue is also available on www.mehdi-chouakri.com
Wall pantings Blackjack Switch, 2012 Dimensions variable Certificate signed by the artist Caribbean Stud Poker, 2012 Dimensions variable Certificate signed by the artist (Both wall paintings executed by Pierre Descamps, Anne-Cecile Ratsimbason, Xavier Theunis and Isabelle Rey) All exhibited works are unique 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