For the second part of the exhibition series SONDERLAGE, LAGE EGAL presents a selection of new works by GFELLER + HELLSGÅRD, SIBYLLE JAZRA and ISA WITTMANN, and focusses on the independent publishing house BEUYS ON SALE, an edition project by Christian Gfeller & Anna Hellsgård.
In a series of 5 exhibitions presenting each 3 artists and one independent publisher, SONDERLAGE wishes to reply to the changing conditions for art production and the urgency to suggest other forms of mediation, distribution and exhibition making. Therefore and in addition to the physical exhibition space, a digital presentation with 3D viewing rooms and online exclusive shows are proposed.
Special emphasis is given to the interaction with limited editions and artists’ books in the form of a temporary store dedicated to an art publisher. Each exhibition will be extended with the production of limited editions by the participating artists. The usual openings are replaced by an open discussion every Tuesday at 7pm in the App Clubhouse.
SONDERLAGE are Pierre Granoux, founder and director LAGE EGAL, Wayra Schübel, cultural producer and moderator, Sarie Nijboer, curatorial assistance and Michelle Rojkov, project assistance
The exhibition series SONDERLAGE is supported by Stiftung Kunstfonds and NEUSTART KULTUR.
With the kind support of ARTBUTLER Art World Solutions and LE FLÂNEUR
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
The sculptures and paintings of the young artist ISA WITTMANN are a very exciting discovery. Wittmann’s work depict a turbulent alienation of (digital) reality. The artist is currently studying the master’s degree in Fine Arts in Teaching at the UdK and Freie Universität in Berlin. In 2018, 2019 and 2020 she was already nominated for the Schulz-Stübner Prize of the UdK Berlin and in 2019 she was awarded for the Anna-Oppermann-Prize. Wittmann sprays, draws, paints and sculpts colorful narratives. Sometimes her paintings seem like still lifes or landscapes, but completely torn from their art historical context. Titles such as “Ballet of Unhatched Chicks,” “I Walked with Pleasure through a Green Forest,” and “My Friend the Tree,…” are humorous references to historical as well as everyday stories that Wittmann disrupts with her oil, watercolor, and acrylic spray paints and eventually presents as vivid compositions.
In her large material collages, SIBYLLE JAZRA creates subtle allusions that occasionally become concrete without revealing their innermost. Rather, they referentially bend in many directions and, through fragments of quotations, form a new pattern of meaning that sometimes appears humorously, sometimes poetically. What the mix of materials achieves through the juxtaposition of the different materials, is also shown in Jazra’s gesticulating metal works through a purist reduction of surface, material and color. Using a variety of media including sculpture, installation, painting, and collage, Jazra deconstructs recurring elements into a personal narrative structure. The artist learned her craft at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, where she studied Autonomous Sculpture. In 2019, she received a scholarship from the Kulturwerk der VG Bild Kunst Bonn and published her monograph “Schickeria Glitterati” with Kerber Verlag in 2020.
The Swedish-French, Berlin-based artist duo GFELLER + HELLSGÅRD, have been working with screen printing for over 20 years. In their work, they test and expand the boundaries of screen printing and deconstruct the conventions, techniques and formal structures of printmaking. This is reflected in their print store and artist store Re:Surgo! where prints, artist books, sculptures, zines and more are created and produced. With each new project, their reputation as a master in screen printing and innovator of the medium is confirmed. Gfeller’s tireless artistic output began in 1995 when he started producing zines under the name Bongoût. In their collaborative work, Gfeller + Hellsgård emphasize experimentation, intuition, craft, DIY, and collaborative practices that include working with other artists on print projects and exhibitions.
BEUYS ON SALE was originally intended as a mockup, inspired by Kippenberger’s Banana skin casted into a plexi Stolperstein (stumbling block) – one stumbles on the banana skin instead of slipping over it. Beuys On Sale nowadays functions as a sales platform, art book distribution, artist book and zine publisher and is curated by artist duo Christian Gfeller & Anna Hellsgård. Beuys on Sale brings together an exciting selection of zines, art books, artist books and prints, underground art, photography, conceptual art, abstraction, illustration, risography, silkscreen and xerox and more. They are primarily small-press books that don’t find their place with traditional distribution channels. They collaborate with Le Dernier Cri, United Dead Artists, Lubok, Pogo Book, Colorama, Bongoût, Gloria Glitzer, Crap Hound and Nieves, among others. Beuys On Sale is the continuity of Bongoût and Re:Surgo! which, like Beuys On Sale, has no specific purpose but can be transformed into anything.
