Space control

What exactly happens when we observe a work of art? In which extent are we influenced by space and in which degree are we able to control it? What sorts of space do exist, what is it we perceive in the space, and how do we process our perceptions?

In the exhibition the perception of space is possible in different manners. First of all, there is the huge exhibition space, which is the aesthetic and optical frame of the artists’ installations. These installations, which refer one to another due to their subject matter, conflate to create an unique experience. Second, there is the space in the work of art itself.

Press release

What happens exactly when we observe a work of art? To what extent are we influenced by the space, and how far are we able to control it? What types of space exist, what do we perceive in space, and how do we re-elaborate our perceptions?

The large exhibition container along which the exhibition unfolds reveals the possible interactions of the works with the space: first, the aesthetic frame that hosts them, then the dialogue between the works themselves and the way in which each one refers to another, creating a global experience. Finally, the contents, because space—sometimes a protagonist, sometimes a supporting character—is an integral part of all the works on display: present in the paintings of Ellen Harvey and Harald Hermann and in the photographs of Sabine Groß and Jenny Rosemeyer, which play between two and three dimensions, between the real and the unreal.

Thus, while some works create a real physical space, so much so that the visitor will need to walk around them to perceive their true dimensions (this is the case with the sculptures of Jeroen Jacobs and Lucas Lenglet), in Jürgen Mayer H.’s glass work, the observer, by interacting with the light, becomes a screen on which the reflected patterns are projected. Chris Larson frees the physical space, symbolically opening the way with a firearm.

Other works make space their central theme, for example, the video Silent Playground by Susanne Weirich, in which the protagonist moves through the virtual space of a PlayStation videogame, or the photographs of Warren Neidich, which explore the boundaries between private and public space. Markus Keibel’s glass works deal with personal space and freedom, while Piotr Nathan’s paintings suggest an intimate, private space. In the video The Scream, Sabine Groß shows the restrictive space of human fears. Finally, the works of Cristopher Draeger and Warren Neidich address public space controlled by politics. Giada Pucci’s site-specific intervention, at the edge of the perceptible, reveals hidden architectural structures.

It will then be up to the visitor to discover and expand their perception of these and other possible imaginary and real spaces.

The Magnus Müller Gallery, founded by Sönke Magnus Müller in 2001, represents numerous well-known artists based in Berlin, such as Piotr Nathan, Jeroen Jacobs, Sabine Groß, and Susanne Weirich, and has hosted exhibitions of artists already known elsewhere, such as Christoph Draeger, Luca Pancrazzi, and Nikos Navridis. In addition, the gallery supports the work of young artists active in Berlin, such as the painter Harald Hermann, Markus Keibel with his glass installations, Jenny Rosemeyer with her photo collages, and Lucas Lenglet, known for his large-scale installations. The Mies van der Rohe Award, received by a gallery artist, Jürgen Mayer H., as an emerging architect, highlights the gallery’s special attention to disciplines that expand its scope of interests.

Biographies

Sabine Groß uses various elements such as video, sound, light, and space to try to explain the creative process. Due to the very nature of human perception, a work of art is always a subjective construction, and through a process of fragmentation and deconstruction of surfaces, Groß questions its value. To what extent can a work be considered a “finished product”? Can we appreciate the value of possible adaptations and modifications to the work that, in the meantime, have made it historical?

Christoph Draeger investigates the unpredictable nature of major disasters (airplane crashes, terrorist attacks, and similar events) and the voyeuristic fascination inspired by the places where they occur. By combining amateur videos and Hollywood films, between reality and fiction, he evokes the emotional impact of such events.

Ellen Harvey creates elaborate forms of trompe-l’oeil, where photographs are painted and paintings are photographed. By playing with the concepts of reality, truth, aesthetics, convention, communication, and perception, she creates “art about art,” whose definition is constantly questioned, along with its meaning and value.

Harald Hermann paints unreal dreamlike landscapes. Through a skillful use of overlays, he creates grotesque situations and depicts absurd spaces where figures and architectural structures seem to float, and where chaotic fragments of memory blend into multi-dimensionality.

For the construction of his installations, Jeroen Jacobs uses industrial materials, ignoring their original functions and purposes, in order to suggest the personalization of space by the viewer. In his most recent sculptures, created by pouring concrete onto inclined surfaces, he allows intention and chance to interact in creating surprising shapes and surfaces.

Markus Keibel uses photography, language, and everyday objects for his installations. His work raises a question: how can we speak about humanity and the human being concretely? The main source of inspiration for his works—created with a discreet and distinctive language—are relationships, communication between individuals, and social issues.

The works of American Chris Larson, combining mythology, magic, gospel music, and neurology, create an atmosphere of dark romanticism, full of references to art history, religion, fairy tales, and not without sexual allusions. In addition to videos, Larson creates large constructions that fit into the exhibition space or create connections between the inside and outside.

Lucas Lenglet has often addressed themes of aggression and formalized violence. Now his interest has shifted towards the concepts of protection and security. What do we need to feel safe? Trying to answer this question, the artist constructs architectural tools that transform real space into an ideal space.

Jürgen Mayer H. works between architecture, communication, and new technologies. He designs reactive interfaces that reveal the information they contain only when the viewer interacts with them. Art thus becomes an operational platform for studying the relationship between the human body, technology, and architectural spaces.

The works of Piotr Nathan are drawings, paintings, sculptures, multiples, artist books, and installations that deal with “the richness of what cannot be reached, the beauty of absence, and the potential of what is symbolically indicated” (Bernhart Schwenk) and narrate the birth of modernity, especially in the context of Prussian Enlightenment, when new observational tools such as telescopes and microscopes made it possible to gain alternative viewpoints of the world.

Warren Neidich studies through photography, cinema, and new media how philosophy, architecture, and design interact with new ideas on perceptual becoming, such as neuroplasticity and neurodarwinism, to provide new means of producing and distributing information.

Giada Pucci intervenes in a transitional space, rarely the object of attention but of habitual use. She almost imperceptibly alters its structure, isolates certain architectural elements, which are then highlighted and multiplied until they become obstacles. By introducing minimal perceptual disturbance, she creates disorientation due to the loss of the original function of the space.

The collages of Jenny Rosemeyer are montages of photographs and reproductions of objects made by the artist herself, assembled on multiple planes, in different scales and proportions, forming a layered figurative language, very dense and mutable.

The latest video by Susanne Weirich, “Silent Playground”, explores the genre of videogames through cinematic aesthetics, simulating the experience of a virtual space in which the viewer must move and make decisions in situations similar to those in a game, thus taking responsibility for their actions. The exhibition space becomes a PlayStation scenario, and the visitor becomes part of the game.