Hans Hemmert this preparation of readiness for keeping oneself open to the arrival or absence of the god
Kavi Gupta Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Berlin-based artist Hans Hemmert who is well known for his philosophical investigations between ideas of space, physicality, religion and the presence and absence of being. The title of the exhibition emphasizes Hemmert�s ongoing interests in these subjects as it is borrowed from the famous Der Spiegel interview with Martin Heidegger from 1966. This latest exhibition will continue to represent the artist�s distinct visual language that is often characterized by his sense of humor and signature use of the color yellow. The show will include several yellow fiberglass sculptures, projected animations and drawings as well as a number of sculptures emphasizing new investigations with light and text.
Hans Hemmert has been exploring the physicality of space and being within his work since the creation of his well-known over-sized latex yellow balloons which he placed in architectural spaces molding a large void within a fragile membrane as well as his egg-shaped balloons in which he would insert himself heightening the body�s physical sense of space. The most recent work by Hemmert addresses the solidity of his forms and the juxtaposition of his disparate images through the use of fiberglass, and again, the bright yellow that is now in the form of a commercial high gloss varnish. His sculptures have literally become devotional objects as religious iconography is absorbed into contemporary consumer culture. A representation of John the Evangelist morphs together with a boom box � or a Porsche is adorned with a cross for a hood ornament.
Popular culture enters Hemmert�s work also through his video projections which involve a collage of video footage borrowed from sources that range from the artist�s personal footage to Japanese and German films and popular television shows like Sex in the City. These images are then embedded within one of Hemmert�s drawings which is then layered once more as it is projected onto a piece of paper on the wall � regenerating itself as a drawing within a layered projection of space and time. The project room of the gallery will also include a solitary work of a meticulously crafted paper replica of the Speyer Cathedral in which another one of Hemmert�s videos involving footage of Anna Karina dissected from a Godard film is placed within hand drawn images of the cathedral and projected back onto itself.
Hans Hemmert (b. 1960, lives and works in Berlin). A catalogue of Hans Hemmert�s latest work has just been produced for his solo show at St�dtische Galerie Nordhorn, Germany. Other recent solo exhibitions include shows at Carlier/Gebauer, Berlin; Galerie Frank, Paris; Institut f�r Moderne Kunst N�rnberg, Germany; Museo Carrillo Gil, Mexico City; Neuer Berliner Kunstverein Berlin; and the Museum Folkwang Essen. Hemmert has also been included in numerous group exhibitions including Neues Museum Weserburg, Bremen; Art Museum of Estonia; Prague Biennale 2; Art Unlimited at Art Basel and the ICA London.
Matt Stokes Long After Tonight
Kavi Gupta Gallery is pleased to present our first solo exhibition by British artist Matt Stokes whose work is marked by an ongoing interest in cultural movements associated with underground music scenes and the uncanny way in which these events contribute to a collective social experience. The exhibition will include the award winning film Long After Tonight which earned Stokes the 2006 Beck's Futures Prize, accompanied by production photographs, film stills, and portraits of participants from the film.
Long After Tonight documents a re-creation of a Northern Soul night staged at St Salvador's Church in Dundee, Scotland � parts of which housed some of the city's first dance events of this kind during the early 1970's. Northern Soul is a term used to describe the dislocation of obscure up-tempo African-American soul music to the north of England during the sixties and seventies. �Northern� nights became extremely popular events where fans gathered in discreet communal places and dance halls for all-night dance sessions. The eclectic way of dancing that emerged took cues from traditional folk to outrageous moves suggestive of forms of proto-break dancing, featuring spins, flips, and back drops. Stokes invited original participants of this scene to dance to tracks from the genre, but transposed the event to within the nave�s Gothic interior. The mix of real time and slowed down rhythm and movement of the dancers, their flowing hair, endlessly spinning skirts and loose undulating clothing, intermingle with the gilded ornate religious imagery of the church, heightening the connection between the definition of a shared religious experience with an overt feeling of nostalgia.
Accompanying the film, several photographs from Long After Tonight will be included in the exhibition. Some of the images are direct film stills that juxtapose the ornate Christian iconography within the church interior with a glistening shirtless body. Other photographs reveal a behind the scenes look at the making of the film including a wide-angled shot of the dramatically lit church interior and stark portraits taken of the participants during their warm-up session revealing the sincere personalities and countenance of these individuals.
Matt Stokes (b. 1973 lives and works in Newcastle upon Tyne, England) was the 2006 recipient of the Beck�s Futures Prize. Recent solo exhibitions include shows at espace d�arts contemporains, Geneva; ZieherSmith, NY; Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin; Collective Gallery, Edinburgh and a solo project with Workplace Gallery at the NADA Art Fair, Miami in 2006. Stokes has also been included in numerous group exhibitions including shows at MuHKA, Antwerp; Witte de With, Rotterdam; ICA, London; PS1 MOMA, NY; Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee; and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead.
Lost in the Rhythm�, a monograph representing Stokes� recent projects has just been co-published by Collective Gallery, Edinburgh and Art Editions North.
