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FRANK NITSCHE: HAPPY DAYS IN MEXICO
Berlin: Bleibtreustrasse 45
6 June–18 July 2015Preview 6 June, 6–8pm

Galerie Max Hetzler is pleased to present the upcoming exhibition HAPPY DAYS IN MEXICO with new works by Frank Nitsche at Bleibtreustrasse 45.

Nitsche's paintings condense the ubiquitous mass media imagery into a distinct language of form. Geometric planes, forms and lines build abstract compositions. Partly overlapping and recurring, these elements create various layers and levels, which unite as single components to a complex construction.

In his works, Nitsche refers to an immense archive of images and icons from pop and consumer culture, product design, news reports and mass media. He collects, arranges, disassembles, recomposes and constructs: An ongoing process of repainting, discarding and releasing.Hybrid structures emerge, depicting the essence of our highly aestheticised present. At times, one seems to recognise comic-like faces and figures, buildings or brand logos, but these images and impressions immediately disappear unverified, rather emphasising Nitsche's play with our habitualised ways of perception.

HAPPY DAYS IN MEXICO presents a selection of new paintings. While some still indicate a reference to earlier works which were mainly reduced to nuances of grey, most of the new paintings show an intense colourfulness. The colour dominates the image build up and sharpen the contrasting effect of different elements, especially through the use of complementary colour hues. Grass-green next to cerise, deep blue and brash orange – interrupted by graphic lines and frames, these paintings not only refer to current mass media that courts for attention but also an universal, computer-based form of expression.

In addition to these paintings, featured in the exhibition for the first time is a group of panels that are covered with stickers all over – collaged and in several layers. Collected during travels all around the world these stickers emphasize regional stylistic peculiarities and likewise allow an insight into Nitsche's own pool of inspiration.

At the same time, wewill inaugurate an exhibition with sculptures and drawings by Inge Mahn at Goethestrasse 2/3.


Frank Nitsche, born 1964 in Görlitz, lives and works in Berlin. Nitsche's works were presented in several solo exhibitions at institutions and museums, such as Brandenburgischer Kunstverein, Potsdam; Nanzuka Underground, Tokyo (both 2011); Haus am Waldsee, Berlin (2010) and FRAC Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand (2007). He took part in group shows at meCollectors Room, Berlin (2015); KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2014); Kunsthalle im Lipsiusbau, Dresden (2013), Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv (2012); Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg (2011) and the Royal Academy of Arts, London (2010) among others. His work is represented in important collections, such as the Centre Pompidou – Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris; Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin; Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Los Angeles; Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York and the Tate Britain, London.

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INGE MAHN
Berlin: Goethestrasse 2/3
6 June–18 July 2015Preview 6 June, 6–8pm 

Galerie Max Hetzler is pleased to present an exhibition with works by Inge Mahn at Goethestrasse 2/3. This is the artist's second solo exhibition with Galerie Max Hetzler. The previous one took place in Stuttgart in 1975, being at that time her first solo presentation altogether.

Inge Mahn is known for her sculptural and performance work, the former based almost exclusively around the material of plaster. In all media, Mahn's approach deals with everyday life and objects, often distorted or placed in a new context and reacting very closely to its architectural and social environment. The position of the observer is always part of Mahn's work, with her focusing closely on how to create a mental and physical access to the artwork itself. Even though the majority of Mahn's sculptures take over the form of existing objects, the artist never creates copies of it, but rather portraits, thus questioning the scope of the term 'portrait' itself.

The space of the exhibition is visually divided by a spatial sculpture Roter Teppich (Red Carpet), first shown at Mahn's solo exhibition at Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf in 1980. As described by Stephan von Wiese in the catalogue Inge Mahn. Baustellen/Construction Sites (2011): “For reasons of content alone, Mahn's otherwise consistently white color spectrum was broadened: the color “red” was a constant, unchanging emblem of sovereignty spanning the humble ground, a color-symbol whose colorful identity had to be maintained. The fact that the carpet here climbs the walls makes an imaginary walk along it into an Ascension of potentates. The red carpet line becomes independent, loses its function, turns into a piece of art, a sculpture in space. The putative solemnity of the unfurled carpet is presented as a comedy number.”

Kinetic sculptures, represented in the exhibition by the works Stuhlkreis (2000), Erbsenzählen (2009) and Unruhe (2002), appeared in Mahn's work mostly during the last 15 years. In these sculptures, the forms slide, spin and bump, filling the space with constant musical whirl.

For the first time, Inge Mahn's sculptural installations are also accompanied by her works on paper. The drawings, relentlessly produced during her travels on which she wasnot able to work on sculptures, were created between 1978 and 2000 during her stays in Norway, the Caribbean or her residency in MoMA PS1 in New York.

At the same time, Galerie Max Hetzler will inaugurate the exhibition HAPPY DAYS IN MEXICO with new works by Frank Nitsche at Bleibtreustrasse 45.


Inge Mahn was born 1943 in Teschen, Poland. She lives and works in Berlin and Groß Fredenwalde. Mahn studied as a master student in the class of Joseph Beuys at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Her graduation project Schulklasse (1970) led her to representation at documenta V in 1972,one of the most influential exhibitions in history, curated by Harald Szeemann. Later Mahn held several professorships, the last one at the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee. IngeMahn’s work was presented in several solo and group exhibitions, most recently at Cahiers d'Art, Paris (2015) and Akademie-Galerie,Die Neue Sammlung, Düsseldorf (2014). Earlier presentations include MoMA PS1, New York (1981),Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich (1983),Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (1988),Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart (1990), Kunsthalle Helsinki (1996), Kunsthalle Kassel (1999) orSchweinfurt Museum (2006),among others. In 2012 Inge Mahn founded the exhibition space Stallmuseum in Groß Fredenwalde.