Cafes and Days
8 years ago
Sunday 28 June 2009
Saturday 27 June 2009
Something strange will happen this summer
Something strange will happen this summer, 26 June-20 July 2009 @ 10 St Clements, OX4 Oxford (the ex-pram store)
Five emerging German artists: Max Frintrop, Martin Galle, David Ostrowski, Michail Pirgelis, Sven Weigel
"Something strange will happen this summer" is the first show of Notfamousyet, a new art consultancy and gallery in Oxford created by Gabriele Dangel. In true Diaghilev-like manner Ms Dangel went to Germany, invited David Ostrowski, who in turn invited some of his friends and she went back to England with the little troup she is now looking after. The use of a "discarded unstylish environment" that is a recently abandonned shop is very intentional: it is about illustrating the urban themes of the five artists.
There are very different styles and media here, from art-objects to mixed techniques on canvas, from the more traditional oil on canvas to video installations.
David Ostrowski is definitely my favourite with his fantastic collection of owls, in particular th two oil and lacquer on canvas which are extremely well structured: the golden number is not far I feel but some parts of the pieces are very graffiti-like with sprays of colours exactly the same colour as the frame. Somehow, it is in between what we could call "high art" and "popular", like a Tintin's or a Mickey's print mixed with Albrecht Dürer.
Martin Galle's style, though using the same "classical" techniques, is completely different: his portrait of a young girl is almost photorealistic and two other painted canvases show decorated walls. Are they walls that he had decorated himself as a graffiti artist?
Max Frintrop's influences for the show tonight are sci-fi books from the now defunct DDR (German Democratic Republic), "Space is the place!" he claims in his myspace's page and one has indeed the feeling one goes back in time with a rather comic sculpture made of plastic and balloons called Marschbefehl (marching orders). His series of small oil on canvas representing stars are nicely playing with the colour blue.
Michail Pirgelis is obsessed with planes' parts and how you can recycle them. The luggage compartment for example becomes an impressive acoustic speaker. There are windows or outer skin of planes that you can touch and think... isn't that very thin and very light? -And isn't that all completely contemporary after the Air France disaster?
And finally Sven Weigel's work is using more modern media, his Dancer projects an old video of a classical ballerina or his Candle Study works with a mirror.
All art shown here is available to buy, and I thought as a very decent price. Most established art galleries in Oxford show mostly horrors at prices the same..., so it is a relief to see at last, something different, "something strange" perhaps, but something of quality.
(published with kind permission of the Oxford Times)
Five emerging German artists: Max Frintrop, Martin Galle, David Ostrowski, Michail Pirgelis, Sven Weigel
"Something strange will happen this summer" is the first show of Notfamousyet, a new art consultancy and gallery in Oxford created by Gabriele Dangel. In true Diaghilev-like manner Ms Dangel went to Germany, invited David Ostrowski, who in turn invited some of his friends and she went back to England with the little troup she is now looking after. The use of a "discarded unstylish environment" that is a recently abandonned shop is very intentional: it is about illustrating the urban themes of the five artists.
There are very different styles and media here, from art-objects to mixed techniques on canvas, from the more traditional oil on canvas to video installations.
David Ostrowski is definitely my favourite with his fantastic collection of owls, in particular th two oil and lacquer on canvas which are extremely well structured: the golden number is not far I feel but some parts of the pieces are very graffiti-like with sprays of colours exactly the same colour as the frame. Somehow, it is in between what we could call "high art" and "popular", like a Tintin's or a Mickey's print mixed with Albrecht Dürer.
Martin Galle's style, though using the same "classical" techniques, is completely different: his portrait of a young girl is almost photorealistic and two other painted canvases show decorated walls. Are they walls that he had decorated himself as a graffiti artist?
Max Frintrop's influences for the show tonight are sci-fi books from the now defunct DDR (German Democratic Republic), "Space is the place!" he claims in his myspace's page and one has indeed the feeling one goes back in time with a rather comic sculpture made of plastic and balloons called Marschbefehl (marching orders). His series of small oil on canvas representing stars are nicely playing with the colour blue.
Michail Pirgelis is obsessed with planes' parts and how you can recycle them. The luggage compartment for example becomes an impressive acoustic speaker. There are windows or outer skin of planes that you can touch and think... isn't that very thin and very light? -And isn't that all completely contemporary after the Air France disaster?
And finally Sven Weigel's work is using more modern media, his Dancer projects an old video of a classical ballerina or his Candle Study works with a mirror.
All art shown here is available to buy, and I thought as a very decent price. Most established art galleries in Oxford show mostly horrors at prices the same..., so it is a relief to see at last, something different, "something strange" perhaps, but something of quality.
(published with kind permission of the Oxford Times)
Sunday 14 June 2009
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