Homebase. Das Interieur in der Gegenwartskunst

Homebase. Das Interieur in der Gegenwartskunst
Der offizielle Trailer zur Ausstellung: Eindrücke der Ausstellung
Homebase. The Interior in Contemporary Art

Kunsthalle Nürnberg im KunstKulturQuartier

3rd December 2015 to 21st February 2016 with works by

Laurenz Berges, Franz Burkhardt, Francisca Gómez, Patricia Lambertus, Zilla Leutenegger, Marjetica Potrč, Jörg Sasse, Gregor Schneider, Andreas Schulze, Taryn Simon, Marcus Schwier, Erik Steinbrecher, Susa Templin, Claudia Wieser

People have always enjoyed looking into strangers‘ rooms: even during the early 14th century, in his frescos in the Arena Chapel in Padua, Giotto enabled the viewer to look at a scene situated in an interior, which should therefore have been protected from curious eyes. Today, such indiscreet views into private interiors seem omnipresent: a huge, often confusing number of glossy magazines, picture books, blogs about furnishings covering every aspect of living; booming interior design fairs and over-filled furniture stores; TV-formats that show how real estate is sold, houses are renovated, and furnishings are replaced. We are experiencing a renaissance of living with a simultaneous focus on the private. For the desire for the security of a familiar refuge obviously increases, the more we perceive the outside world as hectic and uncontrollable. The interior is also strikingly present in contemporary art. The topic is being revitalised and a new concentration on images from the private sphere is emerging. In the very age when a person no longer needs to leave his home to cultivate networks, to work, or to do the shopping, in effect the home is becoming his true psychogram, marking out his relationship to self and to the rest of the world. In the international group exhibition Homebase. The Interior in Contemporary Art the Kunsthalle Nürnberg shows the very different ways in which artists are approaching this highly traditional artistic genre today. In their works the interior may function as a reflection of everyday life or as a metaphor of psychological inner worlds. It serves as a medium of private remembrance or represents changes in social values. It illuminates the increasingly permeable borderline between the private sphere and the public, and poses a question so relevant during crises – what kind of dwelling do people actually need to live, or rather to survive? The works of the participating artists examine the interior as a topic of considerable anthropological significance and at the same time as a temporal phenomenon with present-day relevance. The techniques employed – painting and drawing, photography and video, alongside space consuming and occasionally site-specific installations – are extremely diverse and so reflect the immense range of modern media. Curated by Ludwig Seyfarth and Harriet Zilch, the exhibition Homebase. The Interior in Contemporary Art is being developed in close cooperation with the KAI 10 | Arthena Foundation in Düsseldorf and can also be seen there, albeit after some changes, from 8th April to 23rd July 2016. A comprehensive, bilingual publication will be issued to accompany the exhibition, including essays by Daniel Schreiber, Ludwig Seyfarth, Elena Zanichelli and Harriet Zilch as well as short texts about all the artists.

The catalogue is due for publication by Kerber in December 2015 (ISBN 978-3-7356-0149-0).

Marcus Schwier, image architect. Born in 1964 in Düsseldorf, Germany, Marcus Schwier discovered his fascination for photography while in school. After earning his architecture degree in 1985, he worked in various architectural offices before returning to school in 1993 — this time to formally study photography at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. While at the Academy, Schwier experimented with camera obscuratechniques. Today, the freelancer works on both commercial and artistic projects, concentrating on landscape and architectural photography. Schwier has balanced the artistic work in his studio in Düsseldorf with his global career. On the one hand, he brings the highest standards to the images he shoots as a commercial photographer working on advertising concepts, brochures, and campaigns for such clients as Mercedes Benz, Audi, Thyssen-Krupp, and Deutsche Bank. On the other hand, he doesn’t lose sight of his artistic ambitions and is always looking for new and surprisingly compelling shots. His ground-breaking “Nightshots,” begun using film photography, builds on his Academy experience of shooting long exposures that emphasize the phenomenon of the night itself more than the subjects of the shots. Schwier explains that the nocturnal scene reduces an image to its barest meaning, since the most essential things are already lit; but almost as an afterthought, his long-exposure shots also succeed in bringing light into otherwise pitch-dark corners and niches, uncovering the strangeness of time and moment. Schwier is the recipient of major prizes and awards, including the DG Bank International Photography Award.