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Objekte und Dioramen

von Petter Kreuger

 

 

 

 

Technicality by Petter Kreuger

The title of Petter Kreugers exhibition at Hilsbach Kunst Kultur is Technicality. There is a literal meaning to that – the objects that have been used to create these works of arts are often of a technical character and carry with them into the exhibition that clean and eloquent sense of beauty that only practical and functional objects – objects that are not primarily meant as works of art – seem to be able to encapsulate. It is indeed possible to see a world in a grain of sand, but it is also possible to see a world, and a beautiful world at that, in the curved reflections of a disused CO2 cartridge.

That very strong sense of materiality is and has long been essential to Kreugers works of art. Taking found and often slightly worn objects, objects that already have a history for themselves, crafting them carefully and placing – or perhaps displacing – them into a new context, he not only gives new life to an object that was presumed obsolete, he also puts that object through a transformation; what was once a piece of dollhouse furniture, serving the very particular purpose “to be played with”, has suddenly become part of a world where proportions and purposes are fundamentally distorted.

It is playful, it is fun, it is odd – but it is also unsettling and disturbing in an intriguing kind of way. It is almost as if the objects have found their own afterlife, completely independent from the human world. (It is almost as if the objects have found their own afterlife, completely independent from the human world –and those who are curious of that life mustn’t miss going downstairs to see what is happening under our very feet.)

In the same sense that an objects historical and material qualities are amplified rather than hidden in these works, some of them vividly express their very artificiality. Unnaturally clear and luminescent colours crowd the concentrated works, putting into question the very difference between what is artificial and what natural, what is fake and what is real and once again stressing the surrealism of the apparently neat and tidy landscapes we are moving through here.

That is something that occurs strongly to me after viewing these works, and realizing that although all the technical and mechanical functions appear to be clean, evident and almost self-explanatory, almost none of them serve a purpose that is even remotely rational or even understandable. It is a bit eerie to realize that the most concrete work being done here, is that of a camel who – strapped to a line and a wheel – is attempting to lift a pig.

We are clearly dealing with a technically advanced system here – but while the systems we usually encounter are tied to a clear, useful and often highly specified function, it is obvious that this not the case here. The machine seems to exist on its own, for it’s own sake or even a little bit beside the point.

And while looking a the works of Petter Kreuger, it is hard to get rid of the lingering suspicion that while these technical solutions and systems may be sophisticated enough, their real purpose may be to lull us into a false sense of security. In that way the exhibition sometimes seems to give us the comforting impression that everything is serving a clear and rational purpose, but at the same time leaves us with the insight that the real purpose of the system in which we exist may never be entirely clear. 

Måns Wadensjö, Author                  Stockholm 2/4/2018

 

Petter Kreuger ist ein schwedischer Künstler, der über die Holzbildhauerei zur Kunst kam.
Geboren 1973 im ländlichen Karsta, besuchte er 1993 die Holzbildhauerschulen in Grimslöv und Vardinge, darauf die Beckmanns School of Design und dann das Royal Institute of Art, wo er sich mit Architektur beschäftigte.
Aktuell lebt er in Stockholm, wo er gute Kontakte zu Galerien hat und auch international ausstellt.

 

Vernissage am 05. Mai um 17:00 Uhr

Ausstellungsdauer bis 27. Mai

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