KOW

05/11/2021

KOW at Artissima 2021

SIAMO RICCHI IN TUTTO
In collaboration with Galerie Jocelyn Wolff @galeriejocelynwolff
Curated by Alexander Koch @alexander.koch.kow

Presenting works by Anna Boghiguian, Marco A. Castillo, Alice Creischer, CATPC, Chto Delat, Eugenio Dittborn, Anna Ehrenstein, Sophie Gogl, Oswald Oberhuber, Dierk Schmidt, Michael E. Smith, Clemens von Wedemeyer, Tobias Zielony
And Zbyněk Baladrán, Diego Bianchi, Katinka Bock, Colette Brunschwig, Miriam Cahn, Santiago de Paoli, Irene Kopelman, Isa Melsheimer, Frédéric Moser & Philippe Schwinger, Ulrich Polster, Francisco Tropa, Franz Erhard Walther

“Crisis is the state of the world and of our lives. The hope for (political) change seems baseless. And yet, whatever may come, we are rich in every thing.
Some of what we are rich of is part of the problem and the cause for crisis: The craving for goods and values for instance. Some richness we possess could be part of the solution though: empathy for instance. Reason. Care and Courage.
Yes, we’re rich. Rich in feelings. The body is rich in it’s capacity to recover from pain and fatigue. The mind is rich in imagining how things could be different. We are even rich in our chutzpah to look into the mirror and accept, that that’s us.
We are rich in seeing our hand scribble lines or words on paper, leaving traces to the future. Rich in reaching back to the arts of the past to see our collective origins. Rich in imagery that boldly show what is to come.
We are rich enough to do the things that should be done, as well as those that should not. For better or worse, we are rich in all things. Let’s choose better.”

Artissima 2021 @artissimafair
5 - 7 November
12-8pm
Turin, Italy

Photos: Renato Ghiazza

#artissima2021 #annaboghiguian #marcoacastillo #annaehrenstein #alicecreischer #catpc #chtodelat #eugeniodittborn #sophiegogl #oswaldoberhuber #dierkschmidt #michaelesmith #clemensvonwedemeyer #tobiaszielony #galeriejocelynwolff #kow #kowberlin

04/11/2021

SIAMO RICCHI IN TUTTO
a joint presentation with Galerie Jocelyn Wolff at Artissima 2021

curated by Alexander Koch

“Crisis is the state of the world and of our lives. The hope for (political) change seems baseless. And yet, whatever may come, we are rich in every thing.
Some of what we are rich of is part of the problem and the cause for crisis: The craving for goods and values for instance. Some richness we possess could be part of the solution though: empathy for instance. Reason. Care and Courage.
Yes, we’re rich. Rich in feelings. The body is rich in it’s capacity to recover from pain and fatigue. The mind is rich in imagining how things could be different. We are even rich in our chutzpah to look into the mirror and accept, that that’s us.
We are rich in seeing our hand scribble lines or words on paper, leaving traces to the future. Rich in reaching back to the arts of the past to see our collective origins. Rich in imagery that boldly show what is to come.
We are rich enough to do the things that should be done, as well as those that should not. For better or worse, we are rich in all things. Let’s choose better.”

Artissima 2021 @artissimafair
5 - 7 November
12-8pm
Turin, Italy

#artissima2021 #galeriejocelynwolff #kow #kowberlin

03/11/2021

Currently on view in the KOW office:

Hiwa K, “My Father's Color Period” (2014).

“Unlike in cities with Arab inhabitants, the majority of the people in the Kurdish area of Iraq still didn’t have color TV sets.
So my father decided to cut a sheet of colored cellophane and stick it on the screen of our TV at home. It stayed a whole week until he switched it to another color. We used to watch films, music videos, and other programs in a single shade of blue, pink, green, or yellow. Later he began dividing the screen in two, three, or four sections with a different color in each area. We watched figures walking from blue to green, or though yellow to purple to pink.
Eventually, he constructed stripes and other elaborate forms.
After a while, I realized that my father was not the only one making his own color TV. Many other people in the Kurdish area had devised their own unique filters.”

The piece is part of Hiwa K’s “Tonight This Film Will Be Broadcasted In Color” (2016) installation.

#hiwak #myfatherscolorperiod #kow #kowberlin

Currently on view in the KOW office:

Hiwa K, “My Father's Color Period” (2014).

“Unlike in cities with Arab inhabitants, the majority of the people in the Kurdish area of Iraq still didn’t have color TV sets.
So my father decided to cut a sheet of colored cellophane and stick it on the screen of our TV at home. It stayed a whole week until he switched it to another color. We used to watch films, music videos, and other programs in a single shade of blue, pink, green, or yellow. Later he began dividing the screen in two, three, or four sections with a different color in each area. We watched figures walking from blue to green, or though yellow to purple to pink.
Eventually, he constructed stripes and other elaborate forms.
After a while, I realized that my father was not the only one making his own color TV. Many other people in the Kurdish area had devised their own unique filters.”

The piece is part of Hiwa K’s “Tonight This Film Will Be Broadcasted In Color” (2016) installation.

#hiwak #myfatherscolorperiod #kow #kowberlin

01/11/2021

Repost @henrikenaumann

Henrike Naumann‘s "Triangular Stories" (2012) is on view in the group exhibition 'Avant-Garde and the Contemporary' at Belvedere 21, Vienna, until February 19

The exhibition Avant-Garde and the Contemporary. The Belvedere Collection from Lassnig to Knebl brings into productive correspondence around 140 historical and contemporary artistic perspectives. Through six narrative strands, the show conveys approaches to art from the 1930s to the present day. It follows both well-known and hidden paths and establishes often unexpected connections. The interplay between the historical avant-garde and the contemporary allows viewers to experience the Belvedere's collection as a dynamic construct. @belvedere21wien

Curated by Luisa Ziaja.

Image 1: video still with Janina Stopper
Image 2: video still with Eva Vuillemin, Jan Dose and Florian Lenz

#henrikenaumann #triangularstories #belvedere21 #kow #kowberlin

30/10/2021

Installation views of Barbara Hammer’s films in the group exhibition “The Serpent’s Eye” at the Musée d'art contemporain de la Haute-Vienne. On view until December 15.

With With Carolina Caycedo, Chioma Ebinama, Simone Fattal, Barbara Hammer, Kate Newby, Sophie Podolski, Kiki Smith.

“The exhibition’s title is borrowed from a collection of Japanese folk tales and serves as the doorway to a world of beliefs and rituals seen through the eyes of international artists rarely shown in France.
Representing different generations and cultures, they share an interest in connections with the earth, with plants and with an inherent life force.”

Photos: Aurélien Mole, courtesy of Musée d'art contemporain de la Haute-Vienne.

#barbarahammer #theserpentseye #museedartcontemporaindelahautevienne #kow #kowberlin

28/10/2021

Installation views of Franz Erhard Walther’s work in the group exhibition “One Point Five” at Kunsthalle Mainz. On view until January 9.

With Army of Love, Lucy Beech & Edward Thomasson, Eva Grubinger, Hanne Lippard, Taus Makhacheva, Haroon Mirza, Agnieszka Polska, Anri Sala and Franz Erhard Walther.

“Maintaining physical distance from other people, staying away from crowds, reducing the number of your contacts – in a time of pandemic, separation and isolation (keeping populations apart) hold the promise that you will personally remain healthy and the spread of the virus itself will be contained. Segregation becomes something that is both therapeutic and an act of solidarity.
But the relationship between closeness and distance shapes our entire existence, as well as the way we deal with distance. A human being is a creature that lives through and with bodily contact, and this leads us out into the physical world. It is what enables a child’s immune system to develop in the first place. Over the course of our life we develop a feeling for what kind of closeness is damaging, appropriate or pleasurable. We keep away from fire, walk a safe distance from the road, avoid certain people. All these examples comprise learned techniques that protect us from dangers. Establishing distance between yourself and everyday life, specific events and other people is a crucial part of human interaction. But how does it work with a prescribed distance? Or when forgoing closeness is imposed upon us?

One Point Five is an exhibition dedicated to distance and its multifacetedness. It highlights different forms of closeness over distances, and how this very category changes.” (Kunsthalle Mainz)

The activation of the 1. Werksatz by Franz Erhard Walther takes place weekly on Wednesdays from 5pm to 7pm and on Saturdays and Sundays from 1pm to 5pm.

Images: Kunsthalle Mainz / Norbert Miguletz.

#franzerhardwalther #onepointfive #kunsthallemainz #kow #kowberlin

27/10/2021

Exhibition views of Marco A. Castillo’s solo show “The Notebook” at China Art Objects Gallery, Mérida.
On view until November 20.

“Castillo has been extensively investigating architecture, design and sculpture, which are fundamental aspects of his artistic practice in seeking to create installations, drawings and sculptures that engage with space and negotiate between the functional and non-functional, often expressed in a humorous way.
In tandem with a global movement of historical revision, Castillo reflects on Cuba’s modernization in the 1960 and 70s and refers to influential Cuban artists, architects and designers. The sculptures and works on paper combine elements of Scandinavian design and socialist realism of the Soviet period with traditional Cuban techniques and materials. "The Notebooks" is an exhibition exclusively dedicated to Castillo's drawings taken out of his notebooks.” (China Art Objects)

Join us on Friday, November 11, for the opening of Marco A. Castillo‘s solo exhibition at KOW.

Images courtesy of China Art Objects Mérida, Mexico.

#marcoacastillo #thenotebook #chinaartobjects #kow #kowberlin

25/10/2021

‘Curating Is Always About Desire’: Artist Tiona Nekia McClodden on Her Exhibition Paying Homage to Revered Q***r Filmmaker Barbara Hammer

Interview with Tiona Nekia McClodden on curating the Barbara Hammer exhibition at Company Gallery, New York.
via artnet

"When I was working on the show, the first thing that came to me was the bike. There was always one image of Barbara that stuck with me—a photo of her on the road in Baja, California where she’s wearing leather on that bike. I wanted the bike to kind of be this accountability partner, because it felt like something that was an extension of Barbara’s physical being, it had such an intimate interaction with her body. I decided to foreground this thing that is very physical, very sexy. I decided that I wanted it to be this mirror and to be reflective, something that would always catch what was around it."

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/tonia-nekia-mccloddden-barbara-hammer-2023569

A show on experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer, curated by artist Tiona Nekia McClodden, includes a 1972 motorcycle and archival materials.

23/10/2021

Installation views of Anna Ehrenstein’s solo exhibition “Tools for Conviviality” at Francisco Carolinum Linz. On view until February 27.

In collaboration with Awa Seck, Don Kafele, Lydia Likibi, Saliou Ba and Nyamwathi Gichau. The installation will be expanded with textile sculptures by Sunny Pfalzer.

“In the current project "Tools for Conviviality", the artist and her team reflect on contemporary media in photographs, installations, textile sculptures and a 360° video and confront the socio-cultural consequences of digitalisation and migration. Based on the 1973 book of the same name by philosopher Ivan Illich, Anna Ehrenstein questions the utopia of modern technology as a neutral tool. The artist worked with creatives who migrated to Dakar, the Senegalese capital, which offers relatively easy working conditions due to relaxed visa regulations and attracts a thriving creative scene. Throughout the process-based practice, they used documentary as a foundation for collective speculation and joint creation.” (ooelkg.at)

#annaehrentein #toolsforconviviality #franciscocarolinumlinz #kow #kowberlin

21/10/2021

KOW at Paris Internationale showing works by Anna Boghiguian, Chto Delat, Anna Ehrenstein, Sophie Gogl and Michael E. Smith.

@aaaahhhparisinternationale
20 - 24 October
186 avenue Victor Hugo
75016 Paris

#parisinternationale2021 #annaboghiguian #chtodelat #annaehrenstein #sophiegogl #michaelesmith

21/10/2021

Candice Breitz’s “TLDR” (2017) is featured in the group exhibition “Witch Hunt” at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. On view until January 9.

Witch Hunt is an international group exhibition showcasing the work of 16 artists who use feminist, q***r, and decolonial strategies to investigate current and historical political events, social conditions, and overlooked or suppressed artistic legacies. The artists have demonstrated decades-long commitments to feminist creative practice as a subversive, expansive, and oftentimes collaborative methodology. Together their works provide an opportunity to examine ideas, expand awareness, and encourage dialogue about urgent contemporary issues such as the body and its vulnerabilities; women’s rights and representation; the erasure of women’s contributions to critical movements and histories; the impact of technologies of surveillance; environmental justice; the q***ring of political discourse; the imperative for feminist practice to be inclusive and intersectional; and the power of collective action. The 15 projects in Witch Hunt employ a variety of mediums—painting, sculpture, video, photography, sound, and performance—and consistently argue for the value of a critical feminist perspective within the subject matter, production, and presentation of contemporary art. Witch Hunt asks how artistic practices informed by feminist ideologies can meaningfully amplify debates within contemporary culture and politics.

The exhibition is a collaboration between the Hammer Museum and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA), and works are on view at both sites.

Image: Candice Breitz, TLDR, 2017, thirteen-channel video installation, color, sound. Room A: 60 min. Loop; room B: approx. 12 hour loop. Featuring interviews with Zoe Black, Connie, Duduzile Dlamini, Emmah, Gabbi, Regina High, Jenny, Jowi, Tenderlove, and Nosipho “Provocative” Vidima. Narrator: Xanny “The Future” Stevens. Grim Reaper: Buhle Nobuzana. Conceived in dialogue with SWEAT (S*x Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce), Cape Town. In memory of Nokuphila Kumalo.

#candicebreitz #tldr #witchhunt #icala #hammermuseum #kow #kowberlin

Candice Breitz’s “TLDR” (2017) is featured in the group exhibition “Witch Hunt” at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. On view until January 9.

Witch Hunt is an international group exhibition showcasing the work of 16 artists who use feminist, q***r, and decolonial strategies to investigate current and historical political events, social conditions, and overlooked or suppressed artistic legacies. The artists have demonstrated decades-long commitments to feminist creative practice as a subversive, expansive, and oftentimes collaborative methodology. Together their works provide an opportunity to examine ideas, expand awareness, and encourage dialogue about urgent contemporary issues such as the body and its vulnerabilities; women’s rights and representation; the erasure of women’s contributions to critical movements and histories; the impact of technologies of surveillance; environmental justice; the q***ring of political discourse; the imperative for feminist practice to be inclusive and intersectional; and the power of collective action. The 15 projects in Witch Hunt employ a variety of mediums—painting, sculpture, video, photography, sound, and performance—and consistently argue for the value of a critical feminist perspective within the subject matter, production, and presentation of contemporary art. Witch Hunt asks how artistic practices informed by feminist ideologies can meaningfully amplify debates within contemporary culture and politics.

The exhibition is a collaboration between the Hammer Museum and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA), and works are on view at both sites.

Image: Candice Breitz, TLDR, 2017, thirteen-channel video installation, color, sound. Room A: 60 min. Loop; room B: approx. 12 hour loop. Featuring interviews with Zoe Black, Connie, Duduzile Dlamini, Emmah, Gabbi, Regina High, Jenny, Jowi, Tenderlove, and Nosipho “Provocative” Vidima. Narrator: Xanny “The Future” Stevens. Grim Reaper: Buhle Nobuzana. Conceived in dialogue with SWEAT (S*x Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce), Cape Town. In memory of Nokuphila Kumalo.

#candicebreitz #tldr #witchhunt #icala #hammermuseum #kow #kowberlin