Giorgio Andreotta Calò, Rossella Biscotti, Marc de Blieck, Kevin van Braak, Henry Fox Talbot,
Patricia Kaersenhout, Susanne Kriemann, Matts Leiderstam, Albrecht Meydenbauer, Secondo Pia, Aimée Zito Lema
Opening: Saturday, April 29, 5 – 7 pm
The group show will be held under the moniker Spurensicherung, a German
forensics term that means literally “to secure traces”. The title is drawn from an
exhibition in 1974 at the Hamburger Kunstverein, curated by the art historian Günter
Metken (1928, Germany – 2000, Libya), which included some of the most interesting
artists from the early Seventies.
The curatorial and artistic discourses remain fascinated by historical traces. Today many
artists use methods similar to that of archaeologists and forensic researchers, and
curators are making shows where these works are prominent—a trend that has been
going on for at least fifteen years. Yet ironically, the 1974 Spurensicherung exhibition
and the eponymous accompanying catalogue seem to have been totally forgotten.
For the summer months we are presenting a group show that borrows this exhibition
title as a tribute to Metken. Rather than providing a broad historical overview, the show
takes a playful and intuitive approach, with works by contemporary artists who share
similar interests. We also introduce historical photography from 19th century pioneers,
which was instrumental in providing evidence, and put this in dialogue with
contemporary works.
Why are artists continually interested in historical traces? The 1974 catalogue reveals
that artists had doubts about technical progress and the use of mass media, and in
general were anxious about a cultural amnesia in society. These artists responded with
introspection and started gathering relics, historical documents, and everyday artefacts.
Appropriating these often vernacular objects in their work, they created new artistic
experiences that trigger our personal and collective memories.
In the main gallery space we will be showing found and constructed artefacts by Doug
Ashford, Rossella Biscotti, Kevin van Braak, Sara Se Jin Chang (Sara van der Heide),
Patricia Kaersenhout, Jean Katambayi Mukendi, Matts Leiderstam and Aimée Zito
Lema. On our 4th floor space we will present rare and esoteric uses of photography and
printing techniques by Giorgio Andreotta Calò, Marc de Blieck, Henry Fox Talbot,
Susanne Kriemann, Matts Leiderstam, Albrecht Meydenbauer, Secondo Pia, Hans de
Vries and Aimée Zito Lema.