UNSQUARE DANCE

MIXED MEDIA BY GÉRALDINE WILCKE

​

Joseph Albers spent almost twenty-five years of his prolific artistic creation on the ever changing representation of a basic geometric figure, familiar to all of us from our earliest childhood - the square. In his practice, the square always remained a square, but the colours in which he painted them varied endlessly.
Géraldine Wilcke and Gerhard Frömel, the artists presented in this duo show, both engage in different contemplations of the square, by deconstructing it, challenging its common features, defying its inner logic, even giving it a spin of movement, for the great pleasure of the careful observer.
In that regard, their works have a lot in common with a very peculiar little piece of jazz music, Dave Brubeck’s “Unsquare Dance”. When composing this seemingly very simple, but actually very complex tune in 1961, he deliberately wanted to defy the prevailing 4/4 rhythm of swing, and of the traditional American square dance as well.
This musical curiosity with a highly contagious 7/4 beat is the perfect soundtrack for the contemplation of the ever changing symmetries and asymmetries of the exhibited works, enhancing their subtle visual effects. It also builds a wonderful bridge to the performing arts, and a contemporary dance performance will pre presented on the opening day of this exhibition.
Géraldine Wilcke’s “Architectures of Shadow” are multidisciplinary works, exploring architecture, sculpture, light installation and photography. She assembles, sculpts, folds or positions paper, metal or plexiglas, assigning each of them a role and a voice through shadows and reflections. Light, whether natural or artificial, is always at the center of her creative process. Each material reacts differently to the light sources to which they are exposed.
Born in 1980 in Bremen, Géraldine studied, lives and works in Strasbourg. In her artistic practice, she immerses in design, painting, installation, engraving, architecture, photography and graphic design. Her multidisciplinary education allows her to combine all these elements for each new project, following her inspiration and continuously enriching her artistic approach.
Gerhard Frömel’s elegant steel sculptures are three-dimensional, but made from single elements positioned on several levels. They lead the viewer to perceive optical displacements, separations or connections, creating an illusionary space in two or three dimensions. We get similar impressions when moving through a city or a landscape, with each step leading to an optical transformation of our surroundings. Such physical and mental experiences can change our perception of the world.
Born in 1941 in Upper Austria, Gerhard studied graphic arts at Kunstschule Linz and taught at the University of Art and Design in Linz until 2003. Around 1975, he began to create his concrete art works and has pursued this practice consistently for more than 50 years. His work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group shows and is part of many public and private collections, mainly in Austria, France, Germany, and Switzerland.
Although working independently from each other, the creations of both artists have interesting connections. For the inauguration of our new space, we are thus very pleased to present this vibrant duo show, in kind collaboration with Galerie Wagner, Paris.

Text: Robert Klotz