GALERIE KRINZINGER
GALERIE
KRINZINGER
SEILERSTÄTTE 16, 1010 VIENNA, PHONE +43.1.5133006, FAX +43.1.513300633
GALERIEKRINZINGER@CHELLO.AT WWW.GALERIE-KRINZINGER.AT
OPENING HOURS: TUESDAY – FRIDAY 12 – 6 PM, SATURDAY 11 AM – 4 PM
Curated by_vienna 2011: EAST by SOUTH WEST
Galerie Krinzinger curated by René Block
ENTREPOT
OPENING: THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2011, FROM 6 PM
EXHIBITION DURATION: MAY 12 – JUNE 18, 2011
OPENING HOURS ON WEEKEND MAY 14 and MAY 15, 11 AM – 5 PM
The gallery–curator project curated by_vienna opens up new opportunities of cooperation between galleries and curators. The third edition of curated by_vienna entitled EAST by SOUTH WEST describes a geographical conundrum, which is to be solved by using a contemporary art compass. Vienna’s competency regarding Central and Eastern Europe is being put to the test against the background of globalized mechanisms of contemporary art. 21 internationally renowned curators were invited to develop special exhibitions in cooperation with 21 leading Viennese galleries. The curator René Block has invited six artists from three countries – Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey to Galerie Krinzinger.
René Block (*1942, GE) opened his gallery in Berlin in 1964. At about the same time, he began working as a curator for the Neue Berliner Kunstverein, the Berliner Festwochen and the cityʼs Akademie der Künste. From 1997 to 2006, Block was director of the Kunsthalle Fridericianum in Kassel. After realizing the Nordic Pavilion for the 52nd Venice Biennale (2007), he retired from major international projects. In the same year, he founded a platform for contemporary Turkish art, TANAS, in Berlin. In May 2011 he will be the main juror of the ESSL ART AWARD CEE 2011.
“The invitation to contribute to the gallery project put on by departure was not attached to a specific, comprehensive theme, but rather specified EAST by SOUTH WEST as a geographic motto. Which is certainly a logical direction,from my more North-European standpoint: for Vienna has of course been culturally influenced through itʼs role as door to the Balkans, to South-eastern Europe. It was in Vienna that the House of Habsburg was spreading West-European culture and attracting that of the Slavs and Ottomans. And Vienna has once again become – in line with this tradition and also following the political upheaval of the 1990s in Eastern Europe – a city embracing the exchange and conveyance of different cultures. Although we may not all reside in Vienna, we encounter one another here. My invitation to such an encounter, which will be the first time they all meet, was extended to six
artists from the countries of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey – three countries connected by a common coastline along the western section of the Black Sea. For this exhibition, several new artworks are being created: installations and objects by Gabriela Vanga (RO) and Pravdoliub Ivanov (BG), photographic works and a joint video by Cengiz Tekin and Sener Özmen (TR). For the duration of the exhibition, these works will interplay with objects by Vikenti Komitski (BG) and Miklos Onucsan (RO) at the Galerie Krinzinger. They will be temporarily stored in Vienna, for a reasonable length of time, before embarking upon what may be their final journey to all ends of the world to new owners.” (René Block) Exhibiting artists The works „Rise to Score“ and „Ornaments of Endurance“ by Pravdoliub Ivanov (*1964, BG) attempt to reveal thoughts and comments towards the presence we all live in. Those absurd connections are the best form of articulation for the artist to understand the global world and can be seen as his visual reaction to tensions,conflicts and strives we have to face and get involved in.
„Broken Book“ by Vikenti Komitski (*1983, BG) is a short political dictionary printed in Bulgaria during the socialist era. The definitions of political terms have changed throughout political changes in the state regime and ideologies, making the edition useless. Living in the western part of Romania the artist Miklos Onucsan (*1952, RO) has been inspired by the legacy of Fluxus and conceptual art, and worked along these lines with other colleagues from the same artistic milieu. Onucsanʼs pieces are undeniably poetical, and they evince a delicate conceptual balance, which makes them equally relevant as subtle political statements. Verbalism is just as much of a working material as any other he
might use, which is evident when looking upon the titles of his works.
Sener Özmen (*1971, TR) often plays the role of the protagonist in his works by himself. Recurring themes debates on Modernity and tradition, progress and conservatism in the arts as well as in the community. Cengiz Tekin (*1977, TR) reveals himself as a fan of the tradition of popular Turkish humour magazines. These magazines have influenced the generation of teenagers who grew up in the aftermath of the coup dʼétat of 1980. Those publications were the only platforms to elaborate a political dissent and a sense of youth culture. Tekin fused the language of local caricature with other visual media. His works often include allusions to the Kurdish question – Tekin is of Kurdish origin.
Gabriela Vangaʼs (*1977, RO) work „Wonder“ is a reference to Jacobʼs ladder, which links the earth and the skyIt is a reflection of our possibility in life to choose in every moment the path we take. It is the metaphor of the eternal middle where the human beings are caught. „No secondary thought“ is a reconstruction of one of the most ancient weapons in human history, a hunting weapon built with Lego cubes, a game which can imitate the reality but cannot sustain it. It is a reflection of the
fragility of our world.
Catalogue
A bilingual
