1.10.–13.11.2011

Regarding Düsseldorf 6. 701 e.V. zu Gast im KIT — Kunst im Tunnel

Sarah-Jane Hoffmann, Videostill St. Antoni, 2011

Regarding Düsseldorf 6 is the sixth in the award-winning series of exhibitions by the association 701 e.V. Choosing a different exhibition venue each time, 701 e.V. has been showcasing selected young art since 2005, in line with its mission to help shape Düsseldorf as an attractive place for artists to live and work.
The Regarding exhibitions, curated by Pia Witzmann, feature paintings, sculpture, installations, video and photography by artists with connections to either the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf or the Rhineland. The exhibition series has presented over 80 artists to date, many of whom have since been awarded grants or prizes for their work.

The exhibition’s principal aim is to show the breadth of artistic potential and widely varying approaches to contemporary fine art. It sheds light on the complex structures of artistic practice and the diverse styles of local art production. The exhibition is designed to showcase both the interplay between the various artistic contributions and the quality of the individual art works.

For the current exhibition Regarding Düsseldorf 6, 701 e.V. will be returning to KIT – Kunst im Tunnel. The artists will be adapting and redeveloping many of their works to suit the unique character of the KIT space.

Andreas Bunte will present his artistic fictions, which are often inspired by historical themes, in the form of installations and video works.

Sarah-Jane Hoffmann uses projectors, transparencies and curtains to create dream-like images where light, shadow, colour and space are delicately mingled.

Özlem Altin’s enigmatic image installations focus on the human form, whose unnerving lack of identity raises questions for the viewer.

Ali Altin will create an imaginary exhibition space, which plays on the question of what is reality and what is myth.

Stefan Theissen’s abstract painting develops a colourfulness that seems almost to float off the canvas and makes the paintings appear weightless.

Felix Burger’s work Verfilmung meines Lebens is a half-hour film featuring Burger as the main protagonist. It links the artist’s life to icons of movie history in an extremely entertaining way, without neglecting artistic and aesthetic content.

Liv Schwenk will use the tunnel in an entirely different way. In her performances she seeks a physical confrontation with the surrounding space. It will be interesting to see how she physically interacts with the tunnel’s unusual architecture.

Herbert Willems will create a jungle-like installation, which resembles its natural counterpart but provides the viewer with an unusual perspective.

Yvonne Cornelius alias Niobe will give one of her dazzling performances at the exhibition opening. Highly acclaimed by German pop culture magazine Spex, the singer from Cologne combines complex soundscapes with her classically trained voice.

Curator Pia WITZMANN
Pia Witzmann lives and works in Düsseldorf. After initially reading German, Philosophy and Sociology in Münster, she studied Art, Visual Communication and German in Kassel. After that she studied Liberal Arts, also in Kassel.

Witzmann has curated the Regarding Düsseldorf exhibition series for 701 e.V. since 2005 and is an active member on the association’s board of trustees.

From 1992 to 1996 she worked as a research associate and curator at Museum Fridericianum in Kassel. In 1994 and 1995 she also teamed up with Veit Loers to stage the exhibition Okkultismus und Avantgarde. Von Munch bis Mondrian 1900-1915 at the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt and co-curated hell-gruen. 30 Kunstprojekte im und um den Düsseldorfer Hofgarten in 2002.

She has worked on numerous other exhibition and catalogue projects, including Shapes and Positions (featuring Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Richard Long, Gerhard Richter, Robert Ryman, et al., Museum Fridericianum Kassel, 1993), Joseph Beuys, documenta Arbeit (Museum Fridericianum Kassel, 1993), Dem Herkules zu Füßen (Museum Fridericianum Kassel, 1995) and Surroundings (featuring Dan Graham, Candida Höfer, Gordon Matta- Clark, Blinky Palermo, Man Ray, Diana Thater, et al., Museum Fridericianum Kassel, 1995).

Sarah-Jane Hoffmann, Videostill St. Antoni, 2011