Personal Structures: Time – Space – Existence

Personal Structures is a project aiming at introducing in writing, pictures and in exhibitions, a number of international artists who, for all their individuality, have much in common concerning their intentions and choice of artistic means of expression.

The observation that even in the most distant corners of the world and independent of one another, closely related artistic problems are being worked on, often for surprisingly similar reasons and using comparable languages of form, led to the idea of bringing several of these artists together. With this undertaking, the goal was to start communication with and among the artists, and to offer them a forum.

By abandoning the representation of external reality, artistic parameters themselves (such as color, size, composition, material, etc.) have become themes of art. The more “non-representational” art makes the work processes a subject and includes the viewer and his/her receptive activities in the works, the more the basics of production and reception of art come into focus. Artworks are created, exist, and recognized in time and space. This seems so obvious that its actual meaning is often overlooked. Therefore, time, and space as ”forms of intuition” (Kant) as well as existence (of the artist, the artwork and the viewer) are the themes of the ”Personal Structures“ exhibitions and symposiums.

The goal of the exhibition project is to bring together an international group of artists, and to show their works in group exhibitions. Each exhibition will show artists and work in a different combination, but always related to Time-Space-Existence. Deciding factors are the individual approach of the artist and his/her artistic goals.

Time

Time always implicates movement or change. The way we experience, think, and perceive time is in constant flux, i.e. depends on time. This also applies to artistic concepts of time: The possibilities for visualizing time using artistic means unavoidably change over the course of time.

Space

On the one hand, “space-relatedness” means the three-dimensional body of the artwork itself or its aesthetic interaction with the actual space in which it is placed. On the other hand, “space-relatedness” means the various notions of space depending on personal, cultural, and social circumstances. These become visible in the artist’s specific choice of his or her means of expression.

Existence

 “To exist” does not merely mean being present but rather “self-design”, being open for possibilities, and freedom. Art can bear, regardless of purpose, the function to articulate existential topics and create the possibility for moments of intensified self-awareness. Therefore, one’s own existence, with its particular terms and conditions, can become an artistic subject and thus, serve as model for the self-encounter of the viewer.

Artists: Joe Baer, Robert Barry, Toshikatsu Endo, Marcia Hafif, On Kawara, Kocot & Hatton, Joseph Kosuth, Lee Ufan, Bernd Lohaus, Sanna Marander, Roman Opalka, Sabura Ota, Henk Peeters, Otto Piene, Arnulf Rainer, Rene Rietmeyer, Ulrich Rückriem, Yuko Sakurai, Jessica Stockholder, Erwin Thorn, Franz Erhard Walther, Lawrene Weiner

curated by Fiona Liewehr, Karlyn De Jongh and Sarah Gold