WATCH OUT #1: Maurin Dietrich on Richard Frater

WATCH OUT is an ongoing series in which curators present young artistic positions that they find exciting. Selected by Yvonne Scheja.

Richard Frater’s (b. 1984 in Wellington, NZ; lives and works in Berlin, DE) artistic practice includes film, photography, installation, and sculpture.

I am interested in his practice since we worked together on a project at KW Institute for Contemporary Art in 2017 during my previous position there. For this occasion, Frater had conceived a garden of wild flowers, succulents, and endangered local plants on the rooftop of KW’s exhibition hall that has never really been visible and perceived as part of the institution before. Although viewable from the exhibition spaces, it existed as a non-space within the institutional compound. Through the subtle interventions, Richard changed the perspective and drew visitors’ attention towards the periphery of the institutional infrastructure.

Richard Frater has a strong interest in ecosystems that interweave spheres of nature and art. He focuses on the notions of human supremacy by employing structures in his work, that confront the conflicts between alienation and empathy regarding the species. In the context of his upcoming solo exhibition at Kunstverein München he is questioning the building of the institution as part of an urban infrastructure with many human and non-human actors.

About Maurin

She is a curator and current director of Kunstverein München. Previously she worked at KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, where she programmed performances, exhibitions, and publications; Schir concepts, a residency program located in Tel Aviv and Berlin; and the 9th Berlin Biennale by DIS Magazine. Maurin is the cofounder and director of Fragile, an exhibition and residency space in Berlin. Frequently she writes for Mousse Magazine, Cura and other magazines and publications.