Through her multifaceted practice, Rosemarie Trockel investigates questions that emerge from artistic processes as well as societal issues, one such example are her ceramics.
In this exhibition Rosemarie Trockel shows new and recent ceramic works, a previously unseen Cluster consisting of digitally reconfigured photographs, as well as two new variants of key themes and forms, including the debut of a series consisting of oil paintings based on her photographic images.
In this exhibition Rosemarie Trockel shows new and recent ceramic works, a previously unseen Cluster consisting of digitally reconfigured photographs, as well as two new variants of key themes and forms, including the debut of a series consisting of oil paintings based on her photographic images.
The ceramics deny concrete descriptions and obvious interpretations. This is reinforced through the consistent use of matte white and absorbent paint in this exhibition that attempts to further impede possible associations. The titles of the works are also of great importance and open multifaceted interconnections between language and form. Some ceramics allude to organic shapes found in nature or resemble mirror-like objects while others are structured forms cast in mold reliefs.
The ceramics deny concrete descriptions and obvious interpretations. This is reinforced through the consistent use of matte white and absorbent paint in this exhibition that attempts to further impede possible associations. The titles of the works are also of great importance and open multifaceted interconnections between language and form. Some ceramics allude to organic shapes found in nature or resemble mirror-like objects while others are structured forms cast in mold reliefs.
Key themes and forms also appear in another new body of work of oil-on-canvas paintings – the first time images by the artist are executed by commercial painters. These interpretations of the artist’s imagery are then grouped into compositions, operating similarly to the Cluster series. Throughout the exhibition, motifs from the artist's oeuvre reoccur in different forms and materials. For example an existing wool painting now rendered as an oil-oil-canvas painting, or a motif from a pre-existing Cluster, now grouped in a small combination of prints.
In her large-scale Cluster series, Trockel revisits and samples several of her previous works from various times and contexts by making each grouping a unique work full of contradiction. CLUSTER VI: Door Ajar consists of 14 digitally reconfigured photographs including snapshots taken by the artist with her iPhone, a number of staged or digitally manipulated images as well as reconfigurations of her own works since the early 1980s.
In front of Cluster VI: Door Ajar, the abstract sofa-sculpture Device (2015) is part of a body of work that takes inspiration from pieces of furniture like a sofa, bed or cabinet. A selection of prints and drawings are displayed on it, connecting the sculptural and print work of the artist. In some instances, the framed works overlap each other and parts of themselves. Too low to actually sit on, the sculpture hosts works from different periods of time.
A new variation of connections through sampling images and motifs is presented as a series of smaller, square prints framed in Plexiglass. They are grouped with single works in different frames in a brown painted room, taking its color scheme from the wooden floor in the gallery, thus creating an intimate cabinet-like atmosphere that might recall museum displays from the 19th century.
Emphasizing the serial approach of her practice, the compositions demonstrate how integral variations are within Trockel’s oeuvre which is fueled both materially and conceptually by a constant process of collecting, overwriting, and re-ordering. She regards the artwork as an unstable aggregate of form and concept, deploying this radical instability to dismantle a range of cultural categories, rules, and dogmas.
Emphasizing the serial approach of her practice, the compositions demonstrate how integral variations are within Trockel’s oeuvre which is fueled both materially and conceptually by a constant process of collecting, overwriting, and re-ordering. She regards the artwork as an unstable aggregate of form and concept, deploying this radical instability to dismantle a range of cultural categories, rules, and dogmas.
Rosemarie Trockel
Why gravel, Ms. Smith?
January 25–March 19, 2022