11:00 - 18:00
Kassel Kunstverein, Friedrichplatz 18, 34117 Kassel
multiple daysRené Wagner
Pole Position
02.04. – 28.05.2023
opening: Saturday, 01.04.2023, 19 Clock
from 2. April to 28. May 2023 The Kasseler Kunstverein is showing the exhibition “Pole Position” by René Wagner in its reoccupied rooms in the Museum Fridericianum.
The exhibition space of the Kasseler Kunstverein is occupied by an approx. 3 meter high exhibition wall was cut, which, based on the example of Christopher Williams' exhibition architecture, reveals a huge vehicle. As an imposing sculpture, it divides the adjacent wall and wedges itself into the neighboring room. It stands in the way of exhibition visitors like an illegally parked car. There are recesses in their wall, in which illuminated exhibits can be seen. Wagner foregoes pedestal art in this exhibition. That's why his lacquered vases are screwed into the recessed niches in a kind of exhaust aesthetic. The eye-catching rivets on the exhibition wall, which are usually found on Japanese car rims, Wagner had him come specifically for the exhibition. Borrowings from the Bosozoku style tunings become visible. Artfully prepared rims seem to support the exhibition wall.
There are pictures hanging on her, which are made of sheet-thin aluminum and have several layers of lacquer, but also canvases, which were primed and painted several times in the old master style. Their bright colors are reminiscent of the 90s Hotwheels aesthetic.
By “pole position” Wagner means his own starting position as a chronicler and precise observer. The tuning scene in the neighboring villages of his hometown Hildesheim has always fascinated him. He captured them thousands of times with his camera while waiting at the bus stop.
In the passion and perseverance of people, who tune their cars and then present them in front of the bus stops outside the village in the evening, the artist sees a parallel to the art world, because she too is always looking for the greatest, most beautiful and successful work of art. Tuning scene in the barn versus art in the studio or. Tuning scene in the parking lot versus art in the exhibition room.
Wagner doesn't judge, but rather puts the obsessive attention and total perfection for every detail and the associated appreciation for the highly polished car on the same level as his grandma's art or Meissen porcelain, that was never allowed to be used and was on display in the closet. The need, to measure and optimize, seems to be mainly satisfied with superficial and highly polished surfaces.
Wagner combines these worlds with each other in his aluminum rim designed in Meissen porcelain look, which he also painted in a corresponding pattern.
His carefully painted objects refer to antiquity, when scenes from life were depicted on everyday objects such as vases. The, what Wagner depicts today, is primarily taken from the consumer world. His painted objects leave us with the uneasy feeling, to have fallen for their superficiality and to want to contradict the portrayal, because they torpedo what is familiar.
Perhaps René Wagner reflects our need for so-called precious things, that we present, to enhance ourselves compared to others. As visitors, we feel uneasy, that one's admiration or need for sublimity can be attached to any object or activity and may be ridiculous under certain circumstances. Wagner holds a mirror up to us, to possibly question your own actions and self-love.
If René Wagner has his way, Pole position is not the starting position for a race, but the reflection of one's own attitude.
René Wagner (*1983) lives and works in Kassel.
He studied fine arts at the Kassel Art University.
Opening times
Tuesday Sunday & holidays 11 – 18 Clock
Thursday 11 – 20 Clock
entry
5€ / 3€ reduced
Free entry on Wednesdays
Members of the Kassel Art Association and students with a culture ticket: Free admission