March 28, 2019 - May 24, 2019
Group Show with works by Geoffrey de Beer, Maija Blåfield, Bram Braam, Stefanie Bühler, Gabriella Disler and Kerstin Honeit
The exhibition “On Destruction and Preservation” presents six artists who work in different areas of representation and means of production. They share the deep reflection on parameters of change - sometimes obvious, but also subtle and even hidden. The exhibition does not pretend to solve problems and give answers to urgent questions; instead, it aims to open lines of communication.
The exhibition is political, but not programmatic and by no means comprehensive. The art itself remains the focus of the show and works are selected for their artistic and poetic qualities, in addition to their political message. Several pressing issues are being highlighted: Destruction and preservation in urban and natural environs, the perceived need to modify political and social architecture and the utilization of architectural meanders for political propaganda. Capitalism, corruption, inflated technological advancement, but also ignorance and negligence bringing ecological and humanist catastrophes of unexpected dimensions…. This is the underlying subtext of this show.
Destruction and preservation in urban environs are explored by Gabriella Disler, Bram Braam and Geoffrey de Beer. The perceived need to modify political and social architecture – dealt with by Kerstin Honeit, Gabriella Disler and Stefanie Bühler as well as the use of urban planning for political propaganda. Capitalism, corruption, inflated technological advancement and greed bringing ecological and humanist catastrophes of unexpected dimensions - a gradual move into the Anthropocene and the change in ecology brought on by man-made environmental interventions are especially explored by Maija Blåfield (her film gave the exhibition its title) and Stefanie Bühler.
About the Artists and Their Work:
Gabriella Disler (*1963, Switzerland) lives and works in Basel. She has undertaken residencies in Tokyo Wonder Site/JP, in Cologne/DE and in Nairs, Scuol/CH and received national and international scholarships. 2015 She graduated from édhéa, école de design et haute école d‘art du Valais, Sierre/CH with a MA Fine Arts – Public Sphère. Since 2017 she held a Master of Research in Art & Design, Sint Lucas University Antwerp, BE. Her works has been showing in international galleries and art institutions and are a part of public and private collections. Gabriella Disler about her work: "...it is important to me to take in the obvious, to understand and capture it. It is perhaps way of searching for the natural presence of the 'found'. I capture the seemingly insignificant of everyday life with the camera. It is the peripheral zones that elude fleeting perception. (…) The works follow structures of the spaces and refer to continuative contexts; I “draw” situational places in space and time in which what has happened connects with what is remembered. Connections and superimpositions, which did not exist from the outset, arise between space and image, in which the images rub in new contexts and charge the spaces in between.” On view are photographs from Tokyo from two series, entitled “Disappearance Memories I and II” (2012) in an in situ installation.
