October 4.sat. - 25.sat., 2008 opening reception October 4.sat. 6:00 - 8:00pm
Erwin Wurm is an artist who would drastically change our concept of what the “sculptures” could represent. A series that started in the 90’s, the most representative among his repertoire, the “One Minute Sculpture” transforms the subjects being photographed, or the viewer he himself who came to see the show, into a sculptural artwork for a minute posing awkwardly according to the artist’s intentions. Says the artist: “the fundamental steps consisted in abandoning the ideas of durability and infinity. Sculpture could also last for just a few minutes, a few seconds. The works were transported to the level of the immediate present.”(Erwin Wurm “The artist who swallowed the world” Hatje Cantz) Human torso bloated like a balloon. Human figure transformed into a solid block wearing very tight clothes. Or vegetables grow human arms and legs. You would also find cars and buildings in his works, some swelled up or melted down, presenting very strange textures. It could be said that, these odd at the first sight models are “object” created as a result of an intellectual and precise work, something disassembled and deconstructed by the artist’s vision that could make believe anything could be a sculpture, while it is filled with sense of humor that anyone could understand.
What Erwin says“all the 36 pieces of sculptures, they portray myself; the entire installation represents my self portraiture” are cucumbers in various sizes. In this exhibition, we will be showing his other typical works such as potatoes wearing a knitted outfit, or a woman’s underwear, or having 2 human legs, And Erwin’s new photographs taken for this show during his 2 weeks stay in Japan. Please come see his first solo show in Japan on this occasion.
Erwin Wurm was born in Austria in 1954. He lives and works in Vienna. He had major solo exhibitions such as “Keep a cool head” at MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna Austria in 2006 and “Erwin Wurm” at MACRO Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Roma, Italy. In Japan, he has participated in “All about laughter: role of humors in contemporary art” at Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan. His works are collected by Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA; Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna Austria; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA; Towada Art Center, Towada, Japan and more. From middle of October, 2008 on, his works could also be seen on display at the Hermès boutique.
Michael van Ofen
6th floor TKG Contemporary
October 4.sat. - 25.sat., 2008 opening reception October 4.sat. 6:00 - 8:00pm
Michael van Ofen’s paintings express the portraits and landscapes in the minimum brushstrokes. There are only few elements to be found on the painterly plane, but with very carefully controlled brushstrokes, composition of colors and light, we find ourselves feeling as if our imagination took flight, to rediscover the most universal motif in the Western painting. In fact, van Ofen’s works often finds its sources in the 18th Century onwards’ classical works. His work dated in 2003 titled “Horatier” is based on the “Oath of the Horatii” painted by Jacques Louis David, a Neo Classicism painter in 1784. Van Ofen’s paintings only shows beautiful straight lines in high contrast, but to those who had seen the David’s work could probably be reminded of the particular work. Not only as in this example, his motifs - some portraits he had chosen to paint, the landscapes, the still lives ? had repeatedly been the motifs in the long history of paintings. The mere stroke of a brush on the canvas suggests to us the light shone on the face of a person, on the clothing of a person, or on the slopes of mountains. Despite the minimalist expression that could also be said as abstract painterly, van Ofen’s paintings that remind us of the figurative world, is full of possibilities of what a painting on canvas could show to us.
This will be his first solo show in Japan. We will be showing 6 new paintings. Please come see the show.
Michael van Ofen was born in Essen, Germany in 1956. He was first introduced in Japan by the National Museum of Art, Osaka in their show “Junge deutsche Kunst der 90er Jahre aus NRW. Die Generation nach Becher, Beuys, Polke, Richter, Ruthenbeck, Sonje” (Contemporary German Art: Young artists since Beuys) among Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, and Thomas Shutte. He is showing in various exhibitions in Europe.
