4 December 2004 – 6 February 2005

RAUMFÜRRAUM

Katharina Grosse, Hendrik Krawen, Rita McBride, Therese Schult, Dirk Skreber, Lee Thomas Taylor, Paloma Varga Weisz

The exhibition conceived in conjunction with the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf und Kunstverein is geared in the first instance towards the actual physical location of both institutions: the Kunsthalle erected in 1967. The seven participating artists were invited to develop a series of site-specific works for the spaces within the building, which would comprise differing media and derive from their differing artistic approaches and yet which all comment upon the space in one way or another.
Katharina Grosse, Rita McBride, Hendrik Krawen, Paloma Varga Weisz, Therese Schult, Dirk Skreber and Lee Thomas Taylor have realised paintings and installations, which relate to the dimensions of the individual spaces, the brutalistic design elements of channelling of light and views to the outside. In so doing, imaginary, real, painterly and sculptural spaces emerge—some of which one can walk around and all of which impart aesthetic experience.

The exhibition was generously supported by the Cultural Department of Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf.

The exhibition was accompanied by a catalogue.

28 August – 14 November 2004

JOSEF KRAMHÖLLE

Josef Kramhöller made liberal use of diverse media and materials: he painted, drew, took photographs, wrote, set up installations, read, performed, worked with marker pens, Vaseline, video, sound and text, used excerpts from magazines for collages, existing texts from advertising, literature or political philosophy for his own writings. His analytical and poetic perception of reality lead to emphatic and incisive works containing both autobiographical as well as socio-political elements. Kramhöller’s numerous informal and expressive small paper works and large canvases are characterised by an immediate approach with oftentimes imploring repetitions and a sketch-like, aggressive absoluteness. Amelie von Wulffen, Stephan Dillemuth and Axel John Wieder, who were friends with Josef Kramhöller and who manage his estate, devised the exhibition for the Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue.

18 July – 15 August 2004

OHIO (HUBER + JANKA)

“e.V.”

The artist duo Ohio (Uschi Huber and Jörg Paul Janka) work with found material, mostly photographs and videos from (private) archives that are presented in the »photographic magazine Ohio« or in a public showcase or indeed infiltrate the art world though exhibitions. The exhibition »e.V.«, realised to commemorate the 175 anniversary of the Kunstverein, engages with the theme of »Verein« or membership-based, local contemporary art institution made up of interested citizens, artists and collectors. In order to do this Ohio has invited the most varied local institutions from the Rhineland and Westphalia to provide paintings and video material. The viewer wanders through a staged setting comprising insights into the life of the Verein normally not visible to outsiders. Aspects of work, fun and passion in completely different walks of life are revealed, for example, in images of a training exercise by a youth fire brigade, diver training in grey, murky waters, the work in a group of garden allotments or the performance of the Bonn male ballet dressed in female costume.

An edition of the publication Ohio #12 will accompany the exhibition “e.V.” as well as the Kunstverein’s quarterly publication.

We should like to thank the Kunststiftung NRW for its generous support of the exhibition and the accompany edition of Ohio.

4 April – 27 June 2004

MOSHEKWA LANGA

present + tense

In collages made from plastic tarpaulins, brightly coloured tape, threads and found boxes, Moshekwa Langa designs abstract, mental maps and traces of life in South Africa and Europe in his drawings, photographs, sculptures and videos. History becomes a geographical image, in which the documentation of objective events and personal memories fuse with one another. In the colourful text images, the “collapsing guides” (black plastic foil and tape), the “compasses” and “cityscapes” (found cardboard), Langa explores the consciousness for time and place, for a change in locality and the crossing of borders. Possibilities for orientation and guidelines come to the fore in his work through a series of political and personal experiences.

Kindly supported by the Mondrian Foundation and the Dutch Embassy, Berlin.

175 JAHRE KUNSTVEREIN

In 2004 Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen celebrated its 175-years existence. Ever since it was founded by artists and citizens in 1829 the emphasis has always be on the presentation, communication and discussion of contemporary art. The anniversary year is celebrated throughout the year 2004 with the exhibition "e.V." by OHIO, a publication, and special events.