Futures

Barbara Kapusta, Futures In her contribution for Da in die Front, titled Futures, Barbara Kapusta shows three cast aluminum figures that expand on her ceramic work. Placed in the rear section of the exhibition space, they seem to form a group, but as the viewer moves through the formation, it appears less cohesive and may even be at the point of dispersing after a meeting. Reminiscent of stick figures, the three cartoon-like creatures bear the names One, Second, and Third, a naming choice that appears, in its lack of emotion, to suggest a formal headcount. On the invitation, the Viennese artist uses a font she developed herself. At first glance it is illegible; the viewer must learn to read each letter individually in order to decipher the entire content of the card. Based on the alphabet and the associated 26 characters, Kapusta’s font remains within the sphere of communication that is familiar to us, but the system she has created prepares us to approach her questions about the reality that surrounds us. The letters, reaching upward like flames, remind us of the energy required to smelt and reshape aluminum. From the entrance, our view of the outcome of this transformation—the aforementioned creatures—is hampered by a screen installed at head height on which a film by Barbara Kapusta with sound by Lenka Adamkova plays. Over an alienating, dystopian sound, the visitor hears a voice. The presumably female speaker dispassionately reads out the text displayed in white on black on the screen, creating a tension-laden counterpoint to Adamkova’s composition. Consisting of seemingly formal descriptions, the video’s content confronts the viewer with a preview of an uncertain future. At some points the artist returns to the use of her own font, leaving only the audible voice to convey the information. Together with the alien-like and thus science-fiction-adjacent figures that occupy the space, these speculations about a different world indicate Kapusta’s search for a world without hierarchy, a different order, a new system, and a form of society that is as yet foreign to us. The works were first shown in the early summer of 2022 at Kunsthalle Bratislava, and have been adapted for their exhibition at Da in die Front. +One (Upright), 2022, aluminum, polished, 60 x 60 x 220 cm +Second (Reclining), 2022, aluminum, polished, 190 x 100 x 100 cm +Third (Upright), 2022, aluminum cast, polished, 60 x 60 x 220 cm +Futures, 2022, single-channel video, audio, 07:00 min, 55 ́ monitor, Raspberry Pi, aluminum pole, sound: Lenka Adamkova Da in die Front What is a statue? In six consecutive exhibitions, Da in die Front invites a number of artists to each expand the visual appearance of the statue. In 2017, I organized an exhibition titled “Da instinktiv die Frontalansicht dominiert...” at Werft77 in Düsseldorf that led me in a new direction. In this exhibition I presented work by Nina Nowak, Philipp Röcker, and Thomas Schütte, as well as my own sculptures. The common theme of the exhibited work was the bust. As a fragment of a statue, this collaboration became the initial spark for Da in die Front. Within this concept, I went on to work with Peter Ewig, Camillo Grewe, Christine Moldrickx, Angela Fette, Christoph Westermeier & Jurgen Ots, and Rene Spitzer. The series of exhibitions I developed formulates a new kind of interaction and is my very personal and individual approach to entering into a cooperative dialog. A specific reference to the classic statue provides the intersection point between the involved artists and is highlighted in individual presentations by each participant. The aspects of contemporary sculpture collected in this way will ultimately be compiled into a publication designed to initiate further exploration and discussion. Through this dissection Da in die Front creates an artistic battery charged by diversity and at the same time serves as a sensorium for the statue’s place in the here and now. Matthias Grotevent September 2022 Da in die Front An exhibition series by Matthias Grotevent, presents: Barbara Kapusta Futures Opening Friday, September 30st, 2022, 6-10pm the exhibition runs from October 1st to October 22nd, 2022 open on Saturday, October 01st/08th/15th/22nd 2022 from 1- 5pm and on appointment [email protected] Birkenstraße 61 court, 1st level to the left 40233 Düsseldorf instagram: daindiefront Participating Artists Richard Deacon, Barbara Kapusta, Tim Löhde, Carolin Eidner, Juergen Staack, Cristiana Cott Negoescu supported by: DC Open, Kunststiftung NRW, Kulturamt der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf, Kunst und Kulturstiftung der Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf, Stiftung Kunstfonds, Neustart Kultur, Gieselmann #daindiefront #matthiasgrotevent #barbarakapusta #düsseldorf #richarddeacon #timlöhde #carolineidner #juergenstaack #cristianacottnegoescu #artistrun #artistrunspace supported by #kulturamtderlandeshauptstadtdüsseldorf #kunststiftungnrw #stadtsparkassenstiftungdüsseldorf #neustartkultur #stiftungkunstfonds #dcopen #gieselmann