Produktion. Made in Germany Drei

Kestner Gesellschaft
Goseriede 11
30159 Hannover

Kunstverein Hannover
Sophienstraße 2
30159 Hannover

Sprengel Museum Hannover
Kurt-Schwitters-Platz
30169 Hannover

Mutual opening hours: Tuesday–Sunday and holidays noon-6pm; Monday closed

The third edition of Made in Germany, which is again being mounted by the Kestner Gesellschaft, the Kunstverein Hannover, and the Sprengel Museum Hannover, opens on June 2, 2017. Ten years after the first edition, the cross-institutional exhibition project for the first time has a thematic focus: the concept of production. While contemporary art production may be characterized by global networking and mobility, it still requires an infrastructure, meaning art schools, exhibition venues, and production sites alike, which make up Germany’s art and cultural landscape. A more intense self-inquiry into artistic approaches has become noticeable in recent years—including with respect to the specific conditions of art production in Germany. Artists address producing art in particular in collective work, processual methods, and in time-based formats as well as in the examination of production processes and presentation venues. The selection of the 41 artistic positions in the exhibition, for which new site-specific works have been specifically created, represents these current trends.

Artists
Ketuta Alexi-Meskhishvili, Olga Balema, Julius von Bismarck, Juliette Blightman, Katinka Bock, BPA // Berlin program for artists (Maria Anna Bierwirth, Sofia Duchovny; Richard Frater, Mia Goyette, Sylvester Hegner, Johanna Klingler, Nile Koetting, Grayson Revoir, Miriam Yammad), Henning Fehr & Philipp Rühr, Kasia Fudakowski, Sascha Hahn, Lena Henke, Calla Henkel & Max Pitegoff, IMPURE FICTION, Daniel Knorr, Schirin Kretschmann , Veit Laurent Kurz , Oliver Laric, Amy Lien & Enzo Camacho, Lotte Lindner & Till Steinbrenner, lonelyfingers, Das NUMEN (Julian Charrière, Andreas Greiner, Markus Hoffmann, Felix Kiessling), Peles Empire, Willem de Rooij, Thomas Ruff, Yorgos Sapountzis, Timur Si-Qin, Hito Steyerl, Studio for Propositional Cinema, Raphaela Vogel

Network—Collective
Working artistically in networks and collectives reflects the experience of omnipresent networking, which can be experienced today on all existential levels. Artists develop off spaces, bars, platforms, and event formats in which they connect up temporarily. In addition, digital communication has accelerated the networking and proliferation of the produced contents and images. The network as a structural principle plays a crucial role as a mode of exchange between artists as well as within the production process of numerous works. With BPA. Berlin Program for Artists, Calla Henkel & Max Pitegoff, IMPURE FICTION, lonelyfingers, DAS NUMEN, and the Studio for Propositional Cinema, different models of artists working in collectives or in a temporary network have been invited that think of production as the continuous treatment of meaning and contents. Moreover, the works by Kasia Fudakowski, Oliver Laric, Amy Lien, and Enzo Camacho deal explicitly with networked production mechanisms and processes.

Time—Process
In the contemporary production of art, the time factor is attributed a key role as a performative aspect and as concentration on the moment. In this context, performance formats obtain particular importance on two levels. The first concerns the actual physical presence of the public and artists, which has gained importance in an increasingly digitized lifeworld. The second level comprises the temporary form as such, which defines the work of art as a final and ephemeral form of art production. Several of the participating artists appear in different performance formats, such as, for example, Kasia Fudakowski, IMPURE FICTION, Veit Laurent Kurz, Yorgos Sapountzis, the Studio for Propositional Cinema, or Nile Koetting within the framework of the BPA. The inclusion of the collaborative partners Festival Theaterformen, KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen, and Schauspiel Hannover, each of which is contributing its own projects to Produktion. Made in Germany Drei, reflects this key role of performative projects in a special way. At the same time, the process of production becomes explicit in the thematization and disclosure of the genesis of works of art, such as it takes place in works by Julius von Bismarck, Sascha Hahn, Ketuta Alexi-Meskhishvili, Raphaela Vogel, or Peles Empire based on the self-reflexive addressing of the origination process.

Site—Context
The examination of the specific sites and contexts also becomes visible in the numerous new productions in the exhibition. A large share of the works makes direct reference to the site and the environment. The multifaceted character of the venues, each with its own historical background and architectural conditions, as well as the structural aspects of the surroundings are taken up in the works by Katinka Bock, Lena Henke, Daniel Knorr, Schirin Kretschmann, Amy Lien & Enzo Camacho, Lotte Lindner & Till Steinbrenner, and Yorgos Sapountzis. The reference to the specific site being aspired to clashes with the globalization of the art world and the expanded spheres of activity and life of many of the invited artists. At the same time, the question arises as to what art can set against its complete expropriation due to its permanent presence and circulation in a digital world. Works by Juliette Blightman, Carina Brandes, Henning Fehr & Philipp Rühr, Willem de Rooij, and Hito Steyerl address the personal positioning of the individual, both in the private sphere as well as with respect to cultural membership and identity.

Thematic Focus
Against the backdrop of the thematic focus on the question concerning conditions of art production in Germany, for the first time, selected artists have been included in the exhibition who represent the influence that an older generation of artists has on a younger one: Hito Steyerl as a feminist and critical artist who scrutinizes the digital media and its political and economic implications. Willem de Rooij as an artist who poses questions concerning artistic authorship conceptually. And finally, Thomas Ruff as an artist who began to undertake a precise inquiry into the (photographic) image very early on and in ever-new approaches, always including the technical means that lead to the image.

Location and History
The exhibition project Made in Germany was initiated in Hannover ten years ago as a counterpoint to large-scale global projects such as documenta or the Venice Biennale. The Sprengel Museum Hannover, one of the most prominent German museums and with an outstanding collection and an international presence, joined the Kestner Gesellschaft (founded in 1916) and the Kunstverein Hannover (founded in 1832), two of the most prominent art associations in Germany, to develop the project. These important institutions are thus again offering a broad platform for the presentation of contemporary art.

Team—Collective
The team concept of Produktion. Made in Germany Drei has been of key importance from the very beginning. All of the curatorial decisions, such as the selection of artists, the budget, events, and the exhibition design, were agreed and decided on within the team of curators (with two curators from each of the institutions). The team consists of Christina Végh and Milan Ther (Kestner Gesellschaft), Kathleen Rahn and Ute Stuffer (Kunstverein Hannover), and Gabriele Sand and Carina Plath (Sprengel Museum Hannover).