GdR_DP_KOHLE-VERMOT _UK.indd

PRESS RELEASE
MARCH 13th- MAY 11th 2013
!Sketch of the installation in the gallery’s basement.
SOLO SHOW
«It depends entirely upon the hue of the lighting »
PETRA KÖHLE &
NICOLAS VERMOT PETIT OUTHENIN
Avec le soutien du Centre National des arts plastiques (aide à la première exposition),
ministère de la Culture et de la Communication
THE EXHIBITION
A text by Rahma Khazam
It depends entirely upon the hue of the
lighting
In her collection of essays On Photography (1977) Susan Sontag points out that
even though a photograph seems to have a more accurate relation to reality
than a drawing or a painting, it is no exception to the usually shady commerce
between art and truth. The enduring fallacy that the camera never lies is the
starting-point for a newwork by Swiss duo Petra Köhle and Nicolas Vermot PetitOuthenin. Interweaving photography’s invisible processes of selection, exclusion
and suppression with other discriminative practices, whether cultural, political or
archival, it constitutes a meditation on the elusiveness of truth.
Titled “It depends entirely upon the hue of the lighting ? Est-ce uniquement une
question d’éclairage ?” (2013), their exhibition revolves around the transcript of
two interviews the artists conducted with Rosmarie Nohr, a former student at the
Institute of Colour Photography in Leipzig in the early 1940s. It occupies both levels
of the gallery: on the ground floor, large rectangular monochrome photographs
displaying the primary and complementary colours evoke the objective systems
of colour measurement employed by photographers – which wield authority
despite their supposed neutrality. The monochromes also testify to the fact that
the primary and complementary colours crop up far more often than any other
words during the course of the conversations, while constituting a photographic
constant across time.
Nearby, a mural consisting of photographic emulsion developed directly on the
wall depicts three arresting still lives made by Nohr during her studies, suggesting
that photography might have become a placeholder for everything she was unable
to do or say under the Nazi regime. Hanging on a wall, three framed still lifes
by the artists exhibiting similar formal concerns break down the spatio-temporal
differences between their work and hers, asking how those political events came
to pass and how similar situations should be dealt with today. The performative
installation in the basement fleshes out the narrative begun by the works on the
upper floor. Alongside a table, three chairs and two still lifes under glass, this time
by Nohr. a light-absorbing molleton curtain hangs from the ceiling. It conjures up
the artifices of a photographer’s studio and recalls the artists’ 2012 installation
Exercise d’isolation – which underscored the photographer’s reliance on the
molleton curtain and the spotlight in order to direct and focus the viewer’s gaze on
a particular area of the image. The transformation of reality to meet photographic
requirements calls to mind Vilém Flusser’s remarks on photographic or technical
apparatuses and the danger of letting them rule us, rather than us ruling them.
Even more selective are Nohr’s memories of participating in Hitler’s project
to establish a detailed photographic archive of important mural paintings – a
project alluded to by the mural on the ground floor - in order that they could
be reconstructed if they were destroyed. It never occurred to her at the time to
question the criteria on which the selection of these works was based, just as
she was unaware of the connection between these criteria and the classification
of certain kinds of art as ‘degenerate’. In the same way, she continually sidelines
political and ethical issues during the interview: her focus on technical matters
eclipses questions of responsibility - as suggested by the title of the exhibition.
The issue of accountability is taken up in the performances of the script: the roles
of interviewer and interviewee constantly shift between reader A, reader B and
reader C, underlining the collective nature of responsibility and the fact that we
are all caught up in rules and systems that we adhere to or enforce. By also
inviting audience members to participate in the readings of the script, “It depends
entirely upon the hue of the lighting” comments on the present as much as the
past : it underscores the importance of coming forward - and beyond that, of
speaking one’s mind - and at the same time asks us to reflect on the selective
actions we ourselves carry out. Translated into the language of the country in
which the performance takes place - in this case French - the transcript exposes
Nohr’s memories to yet other sociocultural contexts, thereby engendering new
interpretations and comparisons with analogous situations past or present. By
dissociating such behaviour from Nohr herself and transposing it into other
times and eras, “It depends entirely upon the hue of the lighting” highlights its
continuing recurrence. While evoking Nietzsche’s doctrine of eternal return, the
work also emphasizes that such behaviour cannot for all that be condoned. Such
is the shady commerce between art and truth.
Rahma Khazam
VISUALS OF THE EXHIBITION
Es hängt vollkommen ab von der Farbe der Beleuchtung,
lecture-performance, 1h, 2012.
VISUALS OF THE EXHIBITION
1.
2.
3.
1. Rosmarie Nohr, Duxochromie (Dye Transfer), gold cup with napkin (still life),
Leipzig, about 1940
2. Rosmarie Nohr, Duxochromie (Dye Transfer), clay jug (still life), Leipzig, about
1940
3. Rosmarie Nohr, Early color slide, 24x36 cm, apples on silver platter (still
life),Leipzig, about 1940
VISUALS OF THE EXHIBITION
Early color photography, 4x5 inch, vase and cherry (still life), Rosmarie Nohr,
Leipzig, about 1940
Rosmarie Nohr, Duxochromie (Dye Transfer), Still life (apple with branch) , Leipzig, about 1940
CURRICULUM VITAE
Petra Elena Köhle, née en 1977
Works and lives in Zurich
Nicolas Vermot Petit-Outhenin, né en 1977
Works and lives in Zurich
SOLO SHOWS
2013
Galerie de Roussan, Paris
2012
Kunst-Luftschutz-Massnahme, Palais de Tokyo, Paris
2011
ohne Titel (Stilleben), double-show with Christian Vetter, Vebikus, Schaffhausen
2009
The Nature of Beauty, Lokal-int, Biel
La pièce sacrée - tour 762, Diachronic Group Exhibition #4, Apppart, Locarno
2008
Albert’s Guesthouse - serendipity beach, Kunstbunker Hintereingang, Nuremberg
La Pièce Sacrée, Espace Libre Les Complices, Zurich
2007
Albert’s Guesthouse, Galerie Madonna/Fust, Berne
Anche se non posso focalizzarti – sei nel mio sguardo, Kunsthaus Glarus
Can you now return to from where you came, double-show with Peter Dew,
exex, St.Gallen
2005
Pour les Oiseaux, Buchpräsentation, Les Complices, espace libre, Zurich
GROUP SHOWS (selection)
2012
In Absent Places We Dwell, Piano Nobile, Geneva
Wisdom of Shadow: Art in the Era of Corrupted Information, 4th Sinop Biennial, Turkey
Archives sans fin, Goethe Institut, Paris
Making History, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt
2011
Vitrine # 1, die Diele, Zurich
Môtiers 2011 – Art en plein air, Môtiers
Swiss Art Awards, Basle
Dump Time. Für eine Praxis des Horizontalen, Shedhalle, Zurich
Zwischenlager - Ankäufe der Stadt Zürich 06-10, Helmhaus, Zurich
Tree Structure / Collective Show, Gibsmir, North Hill Street, Los Angeles
CURRICULUM VITAE
2010
Die Anatomie der Bilder, Satdtgalerie, Berne
Werk- und Atelierstipendien der Stadt Zürich, Helmhaus, Zurich
Back Yard, Galerie Lucy Mackintosh, Lausanne
Mein Vergiss Nicht, Dienstgebäude, Zurich
Master Fine Arts Degree Show, Schedhalle, Zurich
Paarkunst, Galerie Luciano Fasciati, Chur
2009
Fehl Aufnahme / What You See Is What You Get, Oberwelt e.V., Suttgart
Urban Kisses, Galerie kritik, Prague
Werk- und Atelierstipendien der Stadt Zürich, Helmhaus, Zurich
Swiss Art Awards, Basle
Welt in Sicht, Ausstellungsraum Klingenthal, Basle
2008
(untitled) a cura di nessuno, Istituto Svizzero, Rome
Spazi Aperti, Accademia di Romania, Rome
The road of contemporary, Art Fair Roma, Rome
2007
Terra Incognita, Istituto Svizzero, Rome
r/e/mig(r)áció, A38 und Reaktor, Forschungsgruppe_f, Budapest
Swiss Art Awards, Basle
2006
Human Organism, Galerie Kritiku, Prague
Migration (Forschungsgruppe_f), Shedhalle, Zurich
Werkstipendien des Kanton Zürichs, F+F, Zurich
Werk- und Atelierstipendien der Stadt Zürich, Helmhaus, Zurich
Heimlich/Unheimlich, Fotomuseum im Münchner Stadtmuseum, Munich2
00-05
Paperart 9 remixed, international Biennale of Paper, Leopold-Hösch Museum, Düren (D)
Swiss Art Awards, Basle
Unter 30, Museum Liner, Appenzell
Code (Forschungsgruppe f), Ars Electronica, Linz
Und da war noch ein Loch im Schwimmbad, Galerie Walcheturm, Zurich
Im Betrachten liegt der Unterschied, Vitrine, Sihlhaldenstr. 4a, Zurich
PROJECTIONS, PERFORMANCES, PRESENTATIONS (Selection)
2012
Schlagwörter und Sprachgewalten, Kunsthaus, Baselland
In Growing up Amid the Historical Mysteries of Proximity: Pros & Cons of
Being Neighbours, ITS-Z1, Belgrade
2011
Lecture simultanée : Simultan-Lesung, Cité int. des Arts, Paris
2nd Anonymous GIBSMIR Art Auction, Zurich
KIJK papers, Warte für Kunst, Kassel
Kopf Kino Kantaten, Message Salon, Perla Mode, Zurich
CURRICULUM VITAE
2010
The Anonymous Gibsmir Art Auction, K3, Zurich
Book presentation with wall installation, Printed Matter, PS1, New York
Book presentation, Francesco Pantaleone Arte Contemporanea, Palermo
Lecture Performance, Visarte Basle
2008
Preview Locarno Filmfestival, Swiss Embassy, Rome
Fenstersprung, PROGR, Berne
2007
Komplizenschaft, Research project, Zurich University of the Arts, Zurich
BLOCK-Presentations: Les Complices, Zurich // CIRCUIT, association d’art
contemporain, Lausanne //
Kunstraum exex, St. Gallen // Substitut, Berlin
PROJECTS-EXHIBITIONS
2010
Lecture simultanée : Simultan-Lesung, with Romy Rüegger, Cité int. des Arts,
Paris
2009/2010
Reto Ganz Kunstraum
2008
(untitled) a cura di nessuno, Istituto Svizzero, Rome
TEACHINGS
2012
Workshop and Mentoring, BA Art Education, Bern University
2011
Workshop, BA Art Education, Bern University of Arts
2010
Presentation of work, BA Art and Media, Zurich University of Arts
Workshop, BA Art Education, Bern University of Arts
Lecturer Prep. Course Degree Schow, Bern University of Arts
2009
Workshop, Prep. Course, Bern University of Art
2008
Presentation of work, Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz
CURRICULUM VITAE
PUBLICATIONS
2012
Frankfurter Auszug, edition fink, Zurich
2010
Dort wo ich gestern hätte sein sollen. Ich bin heute hier., edition fink, Zurich
Newspapers on the occasion of the show Führerauftrag, Schedhalle and Helmhaus, Zurich
2008
Oktober 83, book on the occasion of the show la pièce sacrée, les complices*, Zurich
2007
BLOCK, Les Complices* and edition fink, Zurich
Alberts Guesthouse, edition fink, Zurich
2005
Pour les Oiseaux, edition fink, Zurich
CATALOGUES (sélection)
2012
Making History, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt
Archives - Un inventaire sans fin, Goethe Institut, Paris
2011
Môtiers 2011 – Art en plein Air, Môtiers
2010
Online Publication, Master Fine Arts Degree Show, Schedhalle, Zurich
Paarkunst, Gallery Fasciati, Chur3
2009
Welt in Sicht II, Ausstellungsraum Klingenthal, Basle
Urban Kisses, Galerie kritik?, Prague
2008
Spazi Aperti, Accademia di Romania, Rome
Forschungsgruppe_f LITTLE, a publication by forschungsgruppe_f
2006
Human Organism, Galerie Kritiku, Prague
2005
Paperart 9 remixed, international Biennale of Paper, Leopold-Hösch Museum, Düren (D)
Unter 30, Museum Liner, Appenzell
Forschungsgruppe_f INDEX, a publication by forschungsgruppe_f
PRICES / RESIDENCIES
2010
Art Award, Zurich
2009
Residency Cité international des Arts Paris
2008
CURRICULUM VITAE
Book Award Ministry of Culture, Switzerland
Art Award, UBS Culture Foundation
2007
Projektbeitrag, STEO Foundation
Residency Swiss Institute of Rome
Anerkennungsbeitrag, Ministery of Culture, Switzerland
2006
Art Award, Canton Zurich
Projektbeitrag, Canton Zurich
2005
Projektbeitrag, Zurich
Projektbeitrag, Zurich University of the Arts
2004
Projektbeitrag, Canton Zurich
Kiefer Hablitzel Award
COLLECTIONS
Stadt Zurich
Mimika und Anselm Fink, Zurich
The Essential Collection, Zurich
STUDIES
Petra Elena Köhle
2012 PhD Programm, Linz University of the Arts / Zurich University of the
Arts
Nicolas Vermot Petit-Outhenin
2012 PhD Programm, Linz University of the Arts / Zurich University of the
Arts
CONTACT
Galerie de Roussan
10 rue Jouye-Rouve 75020 Paris
+ 33 (0)9 81 28 90 59
[email protected]
www.galeriederoussan.com
Jeanne Lepine
+ 33 (0)6 16 46 01 10
[email protected]
Anne Bourgois
+ 33 (0)6 13 90 51 01
[email protected]
Du mardi au samedi // 14h-19h
ARTISTS
Sandra Aubry & Sébastien Bourg
Lily Hibberd
Petra Köhle & Nicolas Vermot Petit-Outhenin
François Mazabraud
Stéfane Perraud
ART FAIRS
Drawing Now 2013, Paris
Art Paris, 2013
Nofound Photofair 2012, Paris
Drawing Now 2012, Paris
Slick 2011, Paris