Press Release_Back to the Future_e

PRESS RELEASE
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Heiko Räpple & Sebastian Riemer
Curator: Gérard A. Goodrow
17 September – 21 November 2015
Reception for the Artists – 18 September 2015, 7 pm
Podbielski Contemporary is pleased to announce the opening of the exhibition BACK TO
THE FUTURE featuring works by the Düsseldorf-based artists Heiko Räpple (sculpture) and
Sebastian Riemer (photography). The artistic approaches of both Heiko Räpple and Sebastian
Riemer revolve around conceptual investigations into the history, essence and reception of
their respective media.
Heiko Räpple (*1981, Oberkirch) studied under Didier Vermeiren at the Academy of Art in
Düsseldorf from 2002 through 2009. In his recent free-standing sculptures and wall pieces
comprised primarily of acrystal, concrete, plaster, steel and wood, he focuses more than
anything else on form, materiality and surface structure, which become that much more
“legible” by the stringent reduction to the non-colours white and black. Throughout art history,
the choice of material has played a central role in the viewer’s valuation of a work of art. Plaster
is generally seen as an ancillary material, which, in the final version of the work, gives way to
more “noble” and durable materials such as bronze or marble. In several works, Räpple refers
back to the nearly extinct genre of wall reliefs, which reached a first peak during the age of
classical antiquity and was temporarily re-enlivened in the bronze reliefs created by the avantgarde painter Henri Matisse in the first third of the 20th century. Räpple’s free-standing works,
on the other hand, are clearly influenced on a formal level by the sculptural experiments of
Constantin Brâncu!i, a pioneer of modern sculpture. In all cases, Räpple’s works break down
the barriers between high and low, inside and outside, sculpture and pedestal. The result is a
highly poetic and masterfully crafted oeuvre, which is based within – but also clearly
transcends – materiality.
Podbielski Contemporary I Koppenplatz 5 I D-10115 Berlin I [email protected] I +49 (0)30-24088 238 I www.podbielskicontemporary.com
Sebastian Riemer (* 1982, Oberhausen) studied under Thomas Ruff and Christopher Williams
at the Academy of Art in Düsseldorf from 2002 through 2010. With his appropriations of
retouched vintage photographs, the conceptually based photo artist calls into question the
traditional – and on many levels still relevant – role of photography as a bearer and transmitter
of objective truth. The analogue retouching of vintage photographic documents for press,
advertising and propaganda purposes – from today’s standpoint almost primitive – becomes
downright grotesque through the enlargement of the images to life-size. The manual
retouching of especially press photos raises questions of authenticity and the “honesty” of the
photographic media. At the same time, by appropriating vintage photographs, Riemer also
questions the role of the photographer in the age of post-modern, digital reproduction. In his
most recent series of Polaroid images of vintage Daguerreotypes from the mid-19th century,
Riemer breathes new life into two groundbreaking photographic techniques, both of which
have fallen into oblivion. Downloaded from the Internet, these images thus make reference to
the debt owed by artists of the digital age to the rich tradition of analogue photography, which
in turn is deeply indebted to the medium of painting. As a result, the boundaries between
photography and painting – two theoretically mutually distinct media, which nevertheless
clearly thrive on each other – become blurred and even defunct.
Both Heiko Räpple and Sebastian Riemer thus look back on the history of art and their
respective media, as well as on long-established canons of reception, to create works of art
that, although on many levels based on the past, are clearly contemporary and open new
perspectives for the future of their respective media.
The exhibition is organized by the Cologne-based curator and author Gérard A. Goodrow.
For
additional
information
and
high-res
images,
please
contact
the
gallery
at:
[email protected].
Podbielski Contemporary I Koppenplatz 5 I D-10115 Berlin I [email protected] I +49 (0)30-24088 238 I www.podbielskicontemporary.com
Sebastian Riemer Miss /Franco), 2014, Pigment-Print, 180 x 100 cm
Podbielski Contemporary I Koppenplatz 5 I D-10115 Berlin I [email protected] I +49 (0)30-24088 238 I www.podbielskicontemporary.com
Heiko Räpple Ancheron II, 2012, Gips, Stahl, 99 x 49 x 46 cm
Podbielski Contemporary I Koppenplatz 5 I D-10115 Berlin I [email protected] I +49 (0)30-24088 238 I www.podbielskicontemporary.com
HEIKO RÄPPLE
1981
born in Oberkirch / Germany!
2008
Study at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
2009
Meisterschüler of Prof. Didier Vermeiren
2010
Akademiebrief / Diploma
2009-11
Artist in residence stipend „de Ateliers“ Amsterdam
Currently lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany
EXHIBITIONS (S= solo / G= group)
2014
Hin und Weg, Kunstverein Mischpoke, Duisburg / D (G) Ballerinas II, Raum e.V.,
Düsseldorf / D (S)!Capture, Virtuell-Visuell e.V., with Simon Halfmeyer, Dorsten /
D (S)
Kunstraum Gagarin, Düsseldorf / D (S)
2013
Pollux, Kunstmuseum Solingen / D (S)
2012
11/2012, Kunstverein Kirschenpflücker, Cologne / D (G)
Anna Schmitt, Anna Schmitt, Düsseldorf / D (G)!
Radionica, Baustelle Schaustelle, Essen / D (S)!
Mit weißem Wasser bedeckt (with Gesine Grundmann)
Raum13, Köln / D
!Grants, Lepsien Art Foundation, Düsseldorf / D (G)!
No. 1, Sky Office, Düsseldorf / D (G)!
Freitag der 13. (with N. Crestianinov), Galerie Kudlek v.d. Grinten, Cologne/D!
Mischpoke im KJUBH, Kunstverein KJUBH, Cologne / D (G)
2011
Die Tiefe der Räume, (with Kai-Uwe Schulte-Bunert)
Gallery Filser & Graf, Munich / D (G)
11 x 11 (with Eva Blanché, Christa Filser, Nina Jeroch, Agnieszka Kaszubowska,
hb lankowitz, Moritz Michels, Milan Mihajlovic, Torsten Mühlbach, Christian
Sauer, Kai-Uwe Schulte-Bunert, Stefanie von Thun, Maria WallenstålSchoenberg, Susanne Waltermann), apARTment, Munich (G)
Intermittenz, Bartlebooth & Smautf Düsseldorf / D
Gran Final, Foyer - night of the museums, Düsseldorf
Psychopomp Counsell, de ateliers Amsterdam / NL
Sunbeam in the glasshouse, Kunstverein 701, Düsseldorf
Podbielski Contemporary I Koppenplatz 5 I D-10115 Berlin I [email protected] I +49 (0)30-24088 238 I www.podbielskicontemporary.com
Debut, Kunstverein Offenburg / D (S)
Technique et Sentiment, Gallery Greta Meert, Brussels / B 2010
2010
Forms follows Functions, Foyer Düsseldorf / D (G)
Drinnen und Draußen, Gallery Chert, Berlin / D (G)
Castle of dicipline, Möglichkeit des Raumes, Mischpoke, Mönchengladbach / D
(G)
2009
RölfsPartner Kunsttage, Kunst im Tunnel, Düsseldorf /D (G)
Pension Flora – Mönchengladbach / D!
Opus caementitium, Galerie Rupert Pfab, Düsseldorf / D (G)
CLEAN FUN - Reisholzer Werftstr. 78, Düsseldorf / D (G)!
63. Bergische Kunstausstellung, Museum Baden / Solingen and Städtische
Galerie Remscheid / D (G)
2008
Believe me!, Kunst im Tunnel Düsseldorf / D (G)
1,2,3...Förderkoje...Kirchenfenster, First floor contemporary, Düsseldorf / D
RölfPartner stipend, Düsseldorf / D (G)
Staffellauf, Grassereins, Munich / D (G)
2007
Format 13x18 60x45, Galerie Christine Hölz / D (G)!
462 m2 -409 m2, Gloria Halle, Düsseldorf / D (G)
Komm, Studio Hantmann/Plum, Cologne / D (G)!
Mount Bier Rhabarber-Wahrheit, Galerie Stefanie Bender, Munich / D (G)
Art up, Kunstförderverein Düren / D
Otherside, Malergrotte, Cologne / D
Monumente, acapulco Düsseldorf / D (S)
2006
Atmo, QB15 Karlsruhe / D
Bretter die, die Welt bedeuten, acapulco Düsseldorf / D
Hannibal, QB15 Karlsruhe / D
Zip Zap Rap, Moema, Mönchengladbach / D
2005
Türmchen, Baby!, Künstlerhaus Hilden / D International art workshop, Weiz / A
Podbielski Contemporary I Koppenplatz 5 I D-10115 Berlin I [email protected] I +49 (0)30-24088 238 I www.podbielskicontemporary.com
SEBASTIAN RIEMER
1982
born in Oberhausen
2003
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf with Thomas Ruff and Christopher Williams
2006
Exchange Semester at the Academy of Fine Arts Cracow
2006
Masterstudent of Thomas Ruff
2010
Akademiebrief (Diploma) at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
EXHIBITIONS (selection) (C=catalogue, S=solo exhibition)
2015
I:I, Parkhaus im Malkasten, Düsseldorf (S) (C)
Clash!, Setareh Gallery, Düsseldorf
2014
Another Space/ Another Place/ together, Leeschenhof, Düsseldorf (C)
Beyond Black, Setareh Gallery, Düsseldorf (C)
Dystotal, Pori Art Museum, Pori, FIN (C)
2013
Spolia, Galerie Dix 9, Paris FR (S)
yüz, birlik apt, Istanbul, TUR
10 Jahre, 10 Fotos, Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf
Portrait and a Dream, Grafisches Kabinett, Düsseldorf (C)
2012
Sebastian Riemer , Galerie Clara Maria Sels, Düsseldorf (S)
Hay Fever, Edisyon, Istanbul, TUR
Für immer jung!, Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin (C)
2011
Nur gucken nix kaufen, Rodchenko Hochschule, Moskau, RUS
Faszinierende Dokumente House of Photography, Moskau, RUS (C)
2010
Sebastian Riemer, Galerie Clara Maria Sels, Düsseldorf (S)
Autobahnportraits , Epson Kunstbetrieb, Düsseldorf (C) (S)
Vergeudetes Leben , Oktoberbar, Düsseldorf (S)
New Talents Biennale Kunststation St. Peter, Köln (C)
2009
Granica, Galerie Mikro, Düsseldorf (C) (S)
Sebastian Riemer – Fotografia, Fabrystrefa, Lodz, PL (S)
TANSTAFL, Konsortium, Düsseldorf (C) (S)
2008
Foto Folgen, Hochschule für bildende Künste, Hamburg
Podbielski Contemporary I Koppenplatz 5 I D-10115 Berlin I [email protected] I +49 (0)30-24088 238 I www.podbielskicontemporary.com
2007
Fensterbilder u. Autobahnportraits, Galeriea Zpafiska, Krakau, PL (S)
Mit einem Weg zehn Wege sparen, Parkhaus im Malkasten, Düsseldorf (C)
2004
03---04, NRW-Forum, Düsseldorf + Kunstraum Walcheturm, Zürich, CH (C)
AWARDS / SCHOLARSHIPS
2014
Setareh Future Master‘s Art Award
2012
Audi Art Award – New Photography
scholarship of Kunststiftung NRW, Artist in Residence in Istanbul
2011
scholarship of Multimedia Art Museum Moscow, Artist in Residence in Moscow
2006
DAAD-Freemover scholarship, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
2004
Deutscher Jugendfotopreis
Podbielski Contemporary I Koppenplatz 5 I D-10115 Berlin I [email protected] I +49 (0)30-24088 238 I www.podbielskicontemporary.com