margret wibmer le visible et l’invisible
guest curator sofie crabbé
2 August 2020 - 23 August 2020
From August 2, 2020, Bradwolff Projects, an Amsterdam based experimental platform for contemporary art, presents a solo exhibition of the Austrian multimedia artist Margret Wibmer, curated by Belgian art critic Sofie Crabbé. This exhibition, titled Le Visible et l’Invisible, includes mainly new works as a result of the artist’s ongoing research into the human body and the position of the human body in relation to the everchanging (digital) environment. The various media Wibmer has explored over the past twenty years, namely performance, video, photography, sculpture and textile, come together in this exhibition.
An integral part of Margret Wibmer’s artistic practice is the use of ‘relational objects’. A term refering to the ‘objetos relacionais’ of Brazilian artist Lygia Clark (1920-1988). Where Clark works with stones, shells, plastic bags, mirrors and gloves, Wibmer uses self-designed and handmade wearable textile objects. Performers are invited to wear these relational objects or interact with them, which in turn enable connections, sharpen our senses and increase the awareness of our (finite) physicality.
The central work of the exhibition is Wibmer’s latest video Relay (2018-2020), based on the eponymous performance and projected onto the dome at Bradwolff Projects. Margret Wibmer invited ten performers to enter into a personal, intuitive interaction with a relational object, specifically a woven cotton fabric (calico) which, because of its hard texture and weight, can take on different sculptural shapes. The object has several round, hemmed openings, big enough to enable performers to stick their arms, legs and head through them. Strings are attached on the sides that can be pulled to create volume. The performance turns the object into an extension of the body. It reveals (in normal circumstances often invisible) needs, capabilities and inabilities of the performers. The video Relay is an investigation into possibilities of re-activating the physical and emotional experience of the performance through moving images and sound.
After living and working in Brooklyn for eight years, Margret Wibmer (b. 1959) moved to Amsterdam in 1990. Her work has been performed and shown among others at Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2017 and 2016); RMIT Design Hub, Melbourne (2015); Oude Kerk, Amsterdam (2015); Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam (2013, etc.); Ishikawa Nishida Kitaro Museum of Philosophy, Kahoku, Japan (2013) and KAI 10 – Arthena Foundation, Düsseldorf (2012). Her work has been acquired by public collections such as Artothek des Bundes, Belvedere 21, Vienna; Sammlung Wien Museum, Vienna; Klocker Stiftung, Innsbruck and Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum, Innsbruck.
Special thanks to Florian Krepcik (video production & editing video Relay), Robert Poss (music & sound design video Relay), Marianna Maruyama and Magdalena Kröner (texts publication Relay), Isabelle Vigier (graphic design publication Relay) and Christine van den Bergh (artistic director Bradwolff Projects). The publication is published by VfmK Verlag für moderne Kunst GmbH. The video and the publication have been produced with the financial support of Fonds Kwadraat, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds/Tijl Fonds, Jaap Harten Fonds, Land Tirol, Bundesministerium für Kunst, Kultur, öffentlichen Dienst und Sport. The exhibition has been realized with the financial support of Mondriaan Fonds, Stadsdeel Oost Amsterdam, the Austrian Embassy in The Hague and Bradwolff Projects.
An introduction to the work of Margret Wibmer (in Dutch and English) can be found on the blog of curator Sofie Crabbé.
This exhibition takes place, respecting Corona safelty rules & regulations.