Richard Siegal – Focus on the choreographer, Episode 4 of the series “Behind the Arts”

The imminent premiere of XERROX Vol. 2, a ballet for the music of the same name by Alva Noto, choreographed by Richard Siegal and performed by his company BALLET OF DIFFERENCE, was also a premiere for me. The attendance of the rehearsal and the subsequent conversation with Richard Siegal challenged me to get involved in contemporary ballet. To give you a heads up: I was immediately bowled over ...

Nathalie Vanheule – The beauty of vulnerability

How can poetic art actually be explained? Strangely enough, not by using words. It comes through the senses. As so happened when l looked at the Instagram photos of Nathalie Vanheule. Even a short glance had sufficed to directly sense the emotional power of her works which move between performance, sculptures and video installations. Trying to discover this phenomenon, I am eagerly heading to Kortrijk in Belgium to meet the artist personally ...

Marlon Red – In pursuit of the undiscovered form

Düsseldorf. In the history of art, the idea of the absolute concentration on the interaction of form and colour – while refraining from any representationalism – is not new. My visit with Marlon Red shows me the fact and reason why this continues to be topical and exciting. A quick look at her paintings and drawings is enough for me to realise her passionate joy of experimenting, which is inherent in each one of her works. Her picture motifs in ever new spatial situations which she is able to design in infinite compositions of lines and colour, applied and processed on the most diverse image carriers, provide surprise upon surprise.

Sophia Süßmilch – Pure Artist Talk

It only needs a fraction of a second and I’m captivated. What a weird photo! The adjoining, relevant, short and snappy profile in the June edition ofart Magazinunder the promising headline “Die Superheldin”1 clinched it for me. Sophia Süßmilch fascinates me immediately. The same day I write her a mail and enquire about a visit to her studio. She promptly replies. It was to become a special encounter ...

Following the footsteps of erasement and preservation – An eerie but local journey with Gregor Schneider

Mönchengladbach-Rheydt. This locality is of special relevance to Gregor Schneider. Not only was he born in Rheyd, but he also lives and works here as a sculptor, photographer and film maker. When creating the rooms of the Haus u r*, a family home, his work was essentially born. Since the age of sixteen, he has been building the same rooms into existing rooms, duplicating rooms and objects, or makes them vanish. The construction and fitting of twenty-four of these rooms into the German Pavilion of the Venice Biennale in 2001 resulted in him becoming the winner of the Golden Lion award. Since then, they have been exhibited in new, ongoing contexts worldwide ...

Barbara Schroeder – Art in the space-and-time cycle

Teuillac in Gironde. Time seems to have stopped here. To be exact, the time around 1867, as the crest in the home-cum-studio building that is Barbara Schroeder's home reveals. The house, built in light brick and reddish tile, stands next to a beautiful garden with a pond and is situated in the centre of the Bordelaise wine-growing district. The involvement with the elements of this environment largely determines the work of the artist, which moves between painting, installations and sculpture as well as performance, dance and poetry. As the icing on the cake, her passion for wine and French cuisine is also reflected in her art, which emerges during the very informal studio visit. All in all a pure pamper package... !
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Johanna Keimeyer – Multimedia self-awareness

Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg. Oderberger Straße municipal swimming pool. This is the place where Johanna Keimeyer staged her spectacular dance performance, much talked about in the media, for the reopening of the renovated building. It is also the location where photographs of her series Pool Around, are installed throughout the entire complex. Here we start our tour through Berlin, a tour through the artist’s multimedia work . . .

Claus Richter – In front of the backdrop, behind the scenes …

Cologne, September 2018. How magical was the installation of his works at Art Cologne’s this year! I was fascinated by their playfully nostalgic, seemingly light-footed aesthetics; these figures, without exception, had awakened an almost childlike spirit of discovery in me. What was it about the devilish figures of the wall-work, holding the pendulum of the grandfather’s clock, grinning at me so provocatively? The wooden silhouette figures, on closer inspection, turned out to be anything but light-footed. Not only was a hand halted, but also time. A cut made for an end or a new beginning. Such interplay, disclosing profound stories against an apparently harmless backdrop, is typical of Claus Richter's art, as I will experience on my visit to the studio today ...