Kunst Berlin Exhibition Series

Featuring Michael Goering, curated by Klaus Postler

Monday, March 7 - Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Hampden Gallery   

Kunst Berlin began in 2002, when independent curator,Klaus Postler's traveled to Berlin to research and observe the artistic practices throughout the city. Postler posits the notion that Berlin is to the artworld of the EU, what NYC is to the artworld of the US. He anticipates that as the economies of both nations continue on their trajectories of change - the E.U. and hence Berin, will play a larger role on the world art stage. Postler arrived in Berlin with a set of open ended questions: what type of work was being produced post-Berlin Wall?; what issues were informing the works of art being produced?; and, how does national origin influence art work in general?; more specifically, what does it mean to be a German artist today?, and is there in fact a national identity at play in the current German art scene? Also in what ways is the work being produced in Berlin and the work being produced in NY different - and in what ways were they the same? Lastly, what, if any, cross-cultural pollination is occurring? Postler was determined to select artists for the exhibition based on the visual excitement that the work engendered and at the same time he wanted to provide a unique opportunity for the selected emerging artists to be shown in the U.S. for the first time. In doing so, he intends that answers to the above questions would be addressed. As an artist himself, and as a co-founder and director of an alternative gallery space in Brattleboro VT, (One Step Beyond) Postler has a keen understanding of both the need to have one's work be seen by a broad spectrum of viewers and is also sensitive to the obstacles emerging artists encounter. ABOUT THE ARTIST Conceptual Artist Michael Göring studied at the Art Academy Münster and has been exhibiting his sculpture and installations throughout Germany for the past eight years. Kunst Berlin will mark his U.S. debut. The installation Göring has conceived for Hampden Gallery Is deceptively simple in its presentation. Consisting of over 100 vases - each filled with an inflated balloon and suspended at varying heights from the gallery's 14 foot high ceilings. Over time, the individual balloons deflate gradually and the vase is freed from suspension and crashes to the ground. It is an easy leap toviewthe balloon as stand in for the human spirit and the vase as stand in for the physical body. A version of the balloon project was shown in the exhibition "Joker" in Berlin at the Felixleiter - Raum Fur Kunst in 2001. Göring's work elicited great excitement with the public who would return day after day to witness the gradual descent of the vases and eventually their ultimate demise. We believe this same fascination will occur among students and the campus community when Göring's piece is on view at Hampden Gallery whose 43-foot long wall of windows faces the pedestrian zone, making it an ideal location for this unfolding, ever-evolving, drama to take place.

 

Associated Events

Artist in Residence with Michael Goering

Kunst Berlin Exhibition Series
Wednesday, March 2 - Thursday, March 10, 2005 

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Opening Reception with the Artist Michael Goering

Kunst Berlin Exhibition Series
Monday, March 7, 2005 

Free and Open to the Public,4:00 pm to 6:00 pm