Jana Gunstheimer: Mentale Duelle (Mental Duels)
Maarten Sleeuwits: Objects and Recordings
9 May–29 June 2014
Kunsthalle Erfurt
Fischmarkt 7
D-99084 Erfurt
Hours: Tuesday–Sunday and bank holidays 11–18h,
Thursday 11–22h
T +49 (0) 361 6555660
The stories that Jana Gunstheimer (born 1974 in Zwickau, lives in Jena) tells with her multimedia works blur the boundaries of reality and fiction. The subjects and titles of her drawings and partially accessible pictures often appear familiar. But in fact, they are quotations and clichés, and as such, have undergone at least some manipulation. In her works, Gunstheimer alludes to specific masterpieces, imaging techniques and, on a broader scope, events of art and cultural history, yet always presents them somewhat differently than are commonly portrayed. The artist does this by applying the strategy of imitation and fake. Using elaborate concepts and a sophisticated drawing technique, she intentionally misleads the viewers, urging them to reconsider what they are seeing… In her exhibition at Kunsthalle Erfurt, followed by a subsequent show at the Gemeentemuseum in Den Haag, Gunstheimer examines “the strolls through the human brain, the contradictory meandering of thought, the mental duels.”
Maarten Sleeuwits (born 1978 in Enschede, the Netherlands, lives in Oslo) showcases various materials and forms, turning them into a memorable experience for viewers and users. Lead and clay, porcelain and bamboo are only a few of the raw materials and composite substances whose qualities are conveyed sensually through the artist’s works. Going beyond Constructivist sculpture or Minimal Art, these objects, in many cases movable, function like “slow gadgets.” They are made to be picked up and handled, giving users a very visceral experience of art, while allowing them to engage in a dialogue with the work. Often, traces left behind by the artist, by other participants in the work, or by places are inscribed in the material as an integral component without which the work would not be complete. The actionist, performative elements of these pieces Sleeuwits frequently documents on video to make them accessible to later exhibition visitors. A first publication, designed by Nora Turato and published by Hatje Cantz, accompanies Maarten Sleeuwits’s first large-scale solo exhibition, hosted by Kunsthalle Erfurt.
Curator: Silke Opitz
