Ausstellung Gewaltigkeiten in Köln

Four artists show violences

On 29 and 30 October 2022, Bettina Guckler, Claudia Simoné, Daniel Breininger and Thomas Klingberg will present different artistic perspectives on the theme of violence and violent acts in various areas of life in a joint show of works in Cologne’s Südstadt district.

Under the title “Gewaltigkeiten” (Violences), the audience will see a wide variation of different art genres such as print, digital alienation, painting, drawing, documentary and scenic photography as well as poetry. For all the diversity of the art genres, there is one thing they have in common: the violence of artistic expression of content, which includes violence.

Guckler: artistic focus on violence against children

Bettina Guckler from Cologne is an artist who combines painting, graphics, drawing and printing. Under the work titles “Kinder im Visier” (Children in the Sight) and “Warum?” (Why?), she thematises abuse against children. The two series each consist of six works and show, among other things, children’s faces drawn with pastels and oil pastels on paper, reflecting the horror of their experiences. With her works, Guckler makes violence against children visible and gives them a voice. The artist’s intention is that this topic be discussed more intensively by a broad public.

Simoné: Shaping reality through scenic photography

For the Oberhausen artist Claudia Simoné, the focus is on the individual shaping of reality through the genre of scenic photography. She focuses on staged portraits in which she brings out the changeability of people and adds another level of interpretation to the portraits – for example, criticism of the affluent society or the provocative portrayal of people who do not conform to the classical ideal of beauty. The fragility of the supposedly strong also finds space in Simoné’s works, which are shown in the exhibition as a cross-section of her artistic oeuvre.

Breininger: Critical approach to media content

For Daniel Breininger, human perception and our own view of the world are essentially influenced by the media. The Düsseldorf artist places current topics and explosive, media-mediated content at the centre of his work – on the premise that these are always accompanied by a vast amount of commentary, interpretation or subjective additions. Therefore, he adds digital interference effects such as noise or distortions to his classical paintings and drawings. He wants to encourage a critical approach to information. The exhibition shows a selection of his works.

Klingberg: Poverty and Homelessness as Experienced Violence

For the Düsseldorf documentary photographer Thomas Klingberg, poverty and homelessness are forms of experienced violence that play a central role in his work. In addition to social documentary works, other photographs on the exhibition theme are on display. He is also presenting his illustrated book “Gelsenkirchen abseits des Fußballs” (Gelsenkirchen away from football) and the publication “Brüche und AufBrüche” (Breaks and Breaks), in which he portrayed the long-term unemployed in pictures and text with the journalist Frank Menke. In a poem, Klingberg also expresses the violence of love and its creative power.

Opening:

Saturday, 29 October 2022
Admission: 18:00 Uhr / Official opening: 19:00 Uhr
Introduction: Art historian Suria Kassimi
Accompanying musical programme: Sax Soul Brother

Opening hours:

Saturday, 29 October 2022: 18:00 – 22:00 hrs.
Sunday, 30 October 2022: 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Exhibition venue:

Gallery 0. Mainzer Strasse 37. 50678 Cologne (Südstadt).

Admission is free.

Admission subject to the Corona Pandemic Containment Rules in force at the time.



This article was posted on August 24, 2022




© THOMAS KLINGBERG