XO @GRIMMUSEUM, BERLIN

Benjamin de Burca, Durchreise, (Detail-Stuttgart), 2012 x o © Laura Gianetti

Federico Maddalozzo “your third eye is open“, 2011-2012 spray paint on wood x o © Laura Gianetti

Currently on view at Grimmuseum, Berlin is x o, a group exhibition curated by Silvia Ploner and Anna Schäffler. The exhibit presents a diverse, international group of artists including Benjamin de Burca, Hiwa K., Phanos Kyriacou, Grischa Lichtenberger, Pia Linz, Federico Maddalozzo, Anna Oppermann, Nasan Tur, Kara Uzelman, Jan Vormann. The exhibition seeks to challenge viewer perception in our physical environment and is undeniable regarding our own spatial comprehension. Each artist offers their own subtle way of aesthetically altering a landscape, whether actual or metaphorical. Focusing on the human “blind spot”, the works attempt to symbiotically merge into the area where the optic nerve meets the retina. This intersection of science and nature is an area that lacks actual “sight” but relies on our own brain chemicals to fill in the negated or empty areas of light. This rings true for artist Federico Maddalozzo, who is based in Berlin and makes work addressing the perception of color as translated by the human eye. For x o, his piece is a wall-hung sculpture, based on a construction site in Brooklyn, New York. This particular shape directs the viewers focus on the negative space, or six holes drilled directly though a sheet of plywood. From the artist: “The holes on the board originally serve as links between the inside and outside, making the inner area of the site visually accessible. But they act also as a means that scan and cut off chromatic portions of reality precisely referring to a certain space and time.” A small amount of spraypaint was added to the otherwise natural, unfinished surface, referencing a brief color study of the visual information the artist witnessed through these circular contours. The resulting piece is encrypted to the uninformed eye. In a minimal, highly conceptual way and in it’s own lack of visible narrative or unassuming self-consciousness, this work like many in the show forces us to think outside the box, and in this case, outside of the possibilities of our own gifts and human fallibilities.

Pia Linz, Blickfeldprojektionsstudie, 2012 x o © Laura Gianetti

x o, at the Grimmuseum, Berlin will be on view until May 13th, 2012

More soon!
xo