Martin Dammann
Blind Spot
In psychology, the term blind spot is used to refer to those realms of memory that are repressed so that we are no longer aware of them. By way of this mechanism, actions and experiences are eliminated from our consciousness for various reasons. The works in this exhibition by Martin Dammann also deal with the past and our memory. Familiar from earlier presentations of the artist’s work, watercolors based on archival photographs of wartime situations are now opposed to paintings based on personal photographs from his private life. Exploring public and private memory, Martin Dammann stages a dramaturgy of archival and current photographs, his painterly execution of these photographs in watercolors, and a video work. This combination enables a direct comparison of what was then and what is now through analogies between what is depicted and the composition.
Martin Dammann’s fascination with the past is expressed in the exploration of how the irrevocable events of the two world wars continue to have an impact on current value systems in our society. By translating these old photographs to painting, he creates a link between the past and today. By adding private, current photographic material, the artist contrasts our images of the past with those that we create of ourselves. This seems entirely convincing, especially considering that an exploration of the impact of the two world wars on today’s society leads to a study of the influence of the family structure on the individual.
By transforming his motifs to large format paintings, Martin Dammann focuses on emotions that he discovers in a photograph and applies them with intense hues in his watercolors. In general, the objects in the images are alienated by the choice of the watercolor technique, and only certain components of the image become recognizable. The blurred character of the watercolors can allow for less clarity, both in the process of painting and in their interpretation. Sometimes he leaves out faces or entire bodies that either remain white or are transformed into unicolor surfaces. It seems almost as if his paintings emblematize the human, fragmented form of memory. Elements of what we experience do not even reach our memory, while others can only be summoned as blurry images, and some things remain very precise and clear. In its entirety, it is as incidental as the process that takes place when painting with watercolors on paper.
Frequent subjects in Dammann’s work consist of a manifold constellation of group structures. The focus of the current exhibition at Georg Kargl Fine Arts lies on a very intimate structure: the family. By way of the video work in the last room of the exhibition, which is very private in character, an engagement with a global, collective past begins to mix with an interest in a very personal past. We see the artist’s father, who responds to a question about the family’s past with a mere laugh, unable to call anything specific to mind: a blind spot in memory.
Text: Marie Duhnkrack
Translation: Brian Currid, zweisprachkunst.de
Biography
born 1965 in Friedrichshafen/Bodensee, lives and works in Berlin
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2018
"Abstieg", InSitu - Fabienne Leclerc, Paris
2017
Kein schöner Land, Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
2016
Schuld, Galerie InSitu – Fabienne Leclerc, Paris
2015
Zum Resultat beruhigter Tumult, Kunsthalle, Nuernberg
weiter weg, Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
2014
Martin Dammann. Mit dem Rücken zur Wand, Märkisches Museum Witten (im Rahmen von 25 Jahre / 25 Künstler / 25 Bilder, Kunstsiftung NRW)
Zeichnungen, In Situ – Fabienne Leclerc, Paris
Dieses Feuer, Atelier Rouart, Paris
aus dem über heraus, Kunstsaele Berlin
2013
Galerie InSitu – Fabienne Leclerc, Paris
Goodbye Paradise – Landschaftsbilder gestern und heute, Kunsthalle Osnabrück
Nur hier, Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Ankäufe, von 2007 bis 2011, Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn
2012
Blind Spot, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
2011
gegen über, Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Frauen, In Situ / Fabienne Leclerc, Paris
2009
Malerei-Zeichnung, Kunstverein Konstanz, Constance
Soldier Studies und Neue Malerei, Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Fremde Freunde, Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, Recklinghausen
2008
Zweite Totale, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
2007
Repromancer, Kunstverein Arnsberg e.V., Arnsberg
2006
Collecting militaria gives you something to talk about, Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
2005
Vanishing Point, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
Überdeutschland, Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Vanishing Point 2, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
2003
New Works, Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
2002
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Berlin
1998
Transmission, Espace des Arts, Chalon-sur-Saône
Blitz Licht, Kunstruimte, Berlin
1996
Galerie Herold, Bremen
1995
Galerie 21, St. Petersburg
Selected Group Exhibitions
2018
CONCENTRATION - a tribute, Gesellschaft für projektive Ästhetik Georg Kargl, Vienna
2017
ZWANZIG 20 years Galerie Barbara Thumm, Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
"En marge", InSitu- Fabienne Leclerc, Paris
Group-Picture, Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
2015
Fire and Forget. On Violence, Kunstwerke Berlin
The Beast and the Sovereign, MACBA – Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona
BER-DTM-HNL – Fasten your seatbelts, HMKV, Dortmund
2014
DER KUBIST MARCEL DUCHAMP MAG NICHT MALEN, Thomas Schulte, Berlin
Summerstage, Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Emotionsräume, Kunstverein Talstraße, Halle/Saale
Kunst Oberschwaben 20. Jahrhundert – 1970 bis heute, Schloss Achberg, Achberg, Germany
2013
Donation Florence et Daniel Guerlain, Centre Pompidou, Paris
Goodbye Paradise – Landschaftsbilder gestern und heute, Kunsthalle Osnabrueck
Spur der Steine, Alte Feuerwache, Kulturhaus Friedrichshain, Berlin
Nur hier, Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der BRD Ankäufe von 2007-2011, Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der BRD, Bonn
Bremer Schule, ESSEN UND TRINKEN MUSUEM, Berlin
2012
Mohrenshow, Wurlitzer Art, Berlin
Choses vues á Droite et á Gauche (sans lunettes), Ballhaus Ost Berlin, Berlin
2011
10 Years Autocenter, Autocenter, Berlin
Rollenbilder.Rollenspiele, Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Salzburg
Erika Mustermann Collection, Der Strich, Berlin
EHF 2010, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Berlin
State of the Union, Freies Museum, Berlin
2010
Fine Line, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
Einen Ort herstellen, Neuer Sächsicher Kunstverein, Dresden
Family Jewels, Galerien der Stadt Esslingen, Esslingen
A Generation, Petach Tikva Museum of Art Israel, Israel
La Revanche de l´Archive Photographique, Centre de la Photographie, Geneva
2009
Schickeria – High Society, BDA-Ausstellungsraum, Braunschweig
Biennale Venezia, 53rd International Art Exhibition, Venice
Family Jewels, Galerien der Stadt Esslingen, Esslingen
The Fear Society – Pabellon De La Urgencia, Arsenale Novissimo, Venice
2008
Vertrautes Terrain – Aktuelle Kunst in und über Deutschland, ZKM Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, Karlsruhe
Nothing to declare, 4. Triennale zeitgenössischer Kunst Oberschwaben, Friedrichshafen
Wild Signals, Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart
Quo Vadis, Autocenter, Berlin
2007
Männerfantasien, Chung King Project, Los Angeles (curated by Ellen Blumenstein)
Between the Two Deaths, ZKM Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, Karlsruhe
Malkunst, 2. Aktuelle Malerei in Berlin, Mudima - Fondazione per l’Arte Contemporanea, Milan
2006
VAC – Colección Valencia Arte Contemporáneo, IVAM, Valencia
Don´t talk about it, Berlin
I walk the lines, Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Berlin Tendenzen, La Capella – Institut de Cultura de Barcelona, Barcelona
SPEED, Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
2005
Trial of Power, Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Berlin (curated by Maik Schlüter)
Richtig Wichtig, PACT, Amsterdam
Good Timing, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
Waters and Watercolours, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
2004
Foreign Affairs Berlin, Tent Centrum Beeldende Kunst, Rotterdam
From Above, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
2003
Video Programme, Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
2001
Einsiedler, Vorübergehend, Museum Folkwang, Essen
Pandaemonium, The Lux Centre, London
2000
Experimental Projects, PS1 - Contemporary Art Center, New York
No Vacancies, Galerie Barbara Thumm/Angelika Richter, Berlin
1999
View, Galerie Eigen & Art, Berlin
Kunstwerke e.V., Berlin
Kunstbank, Berlin
art club berlin, Berlin and AUbase art space, New York
1998
Between, Jacksonville Museum of Contemporary Art, Florida
Sub Fiction, 3. Werkleitz Biennale, Werkleitz
Blockbuster, Kunst + Technik, Berlin
1997
Medienpaket, ZKM Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, Karlsruhe
Hybrid Work Space, Documenta X, Kassel
Kunst + Technik, Berlin
11 Videos, Dogenhaus Projekte, Berlin
L´immagine leggera, Videofestival, Palermo
1996
Auswahl 7. Marler Videopreis, Skulpturenmuseum Glaskasten, Marl
Cluster Images, Werkleitz Biennale, Werkleitz
Die 50 besten, Video Award of ZKM Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, Karlsruhe
Digitale ´96, Photokina/Kunsthochschule für Medien, Cologne
1995
Dirty Windows Gallery, Berlin
Pearls Vol. II, Stiftung Starke, Berlin
1994
Werkstattgalerie Hohentorsheerstraße, Bremen
Ars Grafinova, Ostrobothnian Museum, Vaasa
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