STEFAN BRUGGEMANN, CONCEPTUAL JOKES: KOSUTH OVER PRINCE AT YVON LAMBERT, PARIS

press release:
Stefan Brüggemann November 25 – January 14, 2012

Yvon Lambert is pleased to announce an exhibition of new work by Stefan Brüggemann. This is the artist’s third solo show with Yvon Lambert.

Stefan Brüggemann’s work focuses on contrast and contradictions. His practice is concerned with how and where mediation might occur, rather than placing an emphasis on the separateness of opposing positions. This is especially the case with language, which powerfully shapes and directs our existence. Language is envisaged in Brüggemann’s practice as a fluid medium whose objects, structure and ideology are in a state of constant alteration.

In this new series of work, entitled ‘Untitled (Definition and Joke Paintings)’, Brüggemann brings together Joseph Kosuth’s series ‘Art as Idea as Idea’ (1966-) and Richard Prince’s ‘Joke Paintings’ (1985-). Each work combines a single Joseph Kosuth definition with a Richard Prince joke, maintaining the scale and composition of each, as previous defined by these artists. Kosuth and Prince have both appropriated and repositioned language through existing tropes: the one referencing philosophy, or high culture, the other humour, or popular culture. Brüggemann’s provocation in bringing together the pop and the conceptual sees an irrefutable confrontation of irony and logic.

Elegant and decisive in a formal sense this new group of paintings is nonetheless wholly and unequivocally conceptual. The artist’s intention is to relinquish all formal decisions to his sources. These references are not used as quotations, rather, Brüggemann appropriates them in a literal, wholesale fashion, as a kind of physical and intellectual material, which is not refashioned but remains the same. Brüggemann’s reappropriation of existing works and their linked concepts allows him to present conceptual art in an ever more liminal space, stripping his own decision making to bare functionality. Paradoxically, as he approaches dematerialisation, the works resulting from this process of elimination maintain a lush and striking presence.

Stefan Brüggemann (b. 1975, Mexico City) lives and works in London and Mexico City. He has exhibited internationally at some of the most visionary institutions and private collections throughout the world. He has had solo shows at the Mies Van Der Rohe Pavilion, Barcelona; the Kunsthalle Bern and the ICA, London. He has been included in group shows at the David Roberts Art Foundation, London; the Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City; the Fundacion Serralves, Porto; La Coleccion Jumex, Mexico City; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Kunsthalle Frankfurt and the Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal.

STEFAN BRUGGEMANN, MIRROR INTERVENTION AT THE MIES VAN DER ROHE PAVILION, BARCELONA

THE WOLD TRAPPED IN THE SELF (MIRRORS FOR WINDOWS)
Stefan Brüggemann at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion,
Curators: Laurent Fiévet and Silvia Guerra.
May 25 - 29, 2011

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Sunglasses

The World is a prisoner of its own making as if it has been abruptly locked behind a partition of mirrors.

Artist Stefan Brüggemann at Mies van der Rohe Pavilion follows the maxims Less is more and Gott steckt im Detail (God is in the detail). In order to extol the virtues of the architecture, he has chosen an approach as minimalist as it is radical: replacing the three windows of the principle facade with reflective surfaces. With this choice, the artist revisits the relationship between darkness and transparency in architecture by simultaneously shattering the structure of the façade and rendering it more concrete. The artist accomplishes this separation by blocking light inside the building and rejecting the outdoor light. He enacts a new spatial experiment that turns upside down the free circulation and the aesthetic and philosophical principles at the heart of this architecture. By inviting him to explore the recesses of his mind and question what informs his vision of the world (and therefore recreating his gaze and allowing us to better enter his artistic universe), Stefan Brüggemann includes everything, including the visitor, in his view of his world. This takes physical shape with the projection of his image on the pavilion’s facade through the simple use of reflection, which he in turn violently rejects by blocking his own gaze. We can see this as a way to distinguish the uniqueness of his approach and to use humor to underline his ability to turn something inside out. Just as the visitor finds himself confronted with the projected personification of Morning (as imagined by Georg Kolbe) who suddenly stretches out in front of the fountain’s liquid surface, he is also confronted by himself, face to face with his critical analysis of this artistic creation, whether it be iconoclast or respectful: this location helps the visitor come to terms with his own train of thought and to articulate his concerns. Deeply ambivalent, Stefan Brüggemann’s approach to this intervention brings us back to the image of the mirror which the artist, at times, so enjoys hanging the backwards: the perception generated by his intervention swallows everything up and risks being stifling, much like a posited claim that is still susceptible to doubt and wonder. It resembles a mirror reflecting light, which can both blind and dazzle the eyes.
text by Laurent Fiévet

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THE WORLD TRAPPED IN THE SELF
(MIRRORS FOR WINDOWS)

When the World looks in the mirror does it see perfection?

It may not be blind to its perfection, but perfection is boring.

The World’s perfection is its final delusion: man has designed another world richer and more complete than this world and this new one, like the first, is already burning up under the sun.

The Sun’s reflection in the mirror causes it to go up in flames.

Through Stefan Brüggemann’s simple material alterations to Barcelona’s Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, our gaze is held, captivated, by its own image – like a metaphor for this contemporary world.

Duality is a theme in the Pavilion: the marble veining and travertine grain repeat. Stefan Brüggemann’s intervention transforms the transparencies into mirrors through a slight of the hand that allows the spectator to see multiples of himself.

Since its renovation in 1986, art and architecture come together in this timeless work by Mies van der Rohe. Stefan Brüggemann’s ephemeral intervention terminates this dream of eternal life.

The sociologist Bruno Latour deemed that we were never modern, but Brüggemann pushes us to be hypermodern. We must march to the rhythm of our time.

text by Silvia Guerra


WWW.STEFANBRUGGEMANN.COM

STEFAN BRUGGEMANN'S T-SHIRT FOR ACNE, LAUNCH AND LUNCH AT BISTROTHEQUE

Stefan Bruggemann, Pauline Daly, Jennifer Higgie


Aileen Corkery explaining the Acne T-shirt project


art patron Laura Burlington, artist Stefan Bruggemann, Bistrotheque's David Waddington


Acne T-shirt stall and girls


Bruggemann's Acne T-shirt


Sometimes I Think, Sometimes I Don't


white orchids


ACNE'S WHITE ART T-SHIRT PROJECT

Acne in collaboration with Aileen Corkery and Laura Burlington launch the ACNE WHITE / ART T-SHIRT PROJECT, a non-profit project set up to support emerging artists. Four artists will be commissioned to interpret the Acne white t-shirt, creating limited edition t-shirt designs avail¬able at galleries and ACNE studios worldwide. The proceeds from the sale of the t-shirts will go to a fund to support emerging artists in the publishing of their first monograph - a critical study of their work. The two-year project launches with the t-shirt by London-based artist Stefan Brüggemann in Mid- November. Applications for the ACNE WHITE / ART T-SHIRT PROJECT grants will be available for download at www.acnestudios.com from November 15 2010.

STEFAN BRÜGGEMANN
Stefan Brüggeman lives and works between London and Mexico City. His work combines a conceptual practice with a rough and critical attitude that questions its inner activity at the same time as it reflects on our sociological context. Though the artist mainly works with text, using vinyl and neon as its supports, he explores a wide range of media, creating large scale installation pieces, videos, paintings and drawings. The artist has had recent solo exhibitions at Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland; FRAC Bougogne, Dijon and Kunsthalle Lissabon, Portugal. Stefan has also participated in prominent group shows at the MCA Chicago; Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt; Centre D’Art Contemporian, Geneve and Lismore Castle Arts, Ireland. He is currently preparing for a solo exhibition at Galician Contemporary Art Centre [CGAC], Santiago de Compostela, Spain and a group show at Museu Serralves, Porto, Portugal.

AILEEN CORKERY
Aileen Corkery is a visual arts curator, advisor and lecturer. She was responsible for the curation and development of the Dublin-based Outside Visual Arts – as well as working closely with artists Matthew Barney, Paul McCarthy, Jason Rhoades, Stefan Brüggemann, Phil Collins, Roni Horn, Gerard Byrne, Dorothy Cross, McDermott & McGough, and Douglas Gordon in developing projects, commissions and exhibitions in Ire¬land, Europe and United States. She has curated solo and group exhibitions for Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; Lismore Castle Arts, Waterford, Ireland; Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, UK; Glasgow International, Scotland and Kerlin Gallery, Dublin. In addition to this she has worked for Hauser & Wirth Gallery in London as well as arts commissioning body Artangel on the American artist Roni Horn’s commission in Iceland. Aileen serves on the boards of Location One artist residency programme in New York City and Corn Exchange Theatre Company, Dublin, as well as serving as a consultant to clients’ private collections.

LAURA BURLINGTON
Laura and her husband William Burlington own Lismore Castle Arts www.lismorecastlearts.ie, a non-profit contemporary art gallery founded in 2005 in Co.Waterford, Ireland. Since its inception, the gallery has exhibited the works of some of the world’s leading artists including Matthew Barney, Gerard Byrne, Roger Hiorns, Jason Rhoades, Eva Rothschild, Anri Sala, Richard Long and Ai Wei Wei. Previously Laura worked as a contributing fashion editor for Harpers Bazaar UK, and was one of the founding consultants for ‘The Shop at the Bluebird’ in London, which was nominated for best new retail concept at the British Fashion Awards in 2007. After an apprenticeship in couture, Laura co-founded ROLAND MOURET in 1999 where she served as a director for five years. Her role encompassed all aspects of design, styling and production.

“Acne is built on different creative disciplines, so for me to fuse fashion and art is super interesting”
Jonny Johansson

When I was asked to do a t-shirt for Acne, I used the t-shirt not as a two-dimensional surface where you insert an image or illustration, instead I used the t-shirt as a three-dimensional entity that has an inside, an outside, a front and a back. I played with the concept of “reversed inverted” meaning using the two prints: the text piece “SOMETIMES I THINK SOMETIMES I DON’T” and a silver brushstroke. The t-shirt was printed on the inside and outside so that the prints can be seen through the cloth. I created a t-shirt that doesn’t have a right or wrong side; it can be worn on any side so there is no right or wrong.
Stefan Brüggemann, 13/7/10

There are several aspects of the project that I have found intensely rewarding. The first is offering new opportunities/challenges to the four commissioned artists to explore a new medium as well as introducing them to a different but complimentary network for the production and distribution of their artwork. The second is addressing the issue of serious economic constraints on publication budgets for artists. Through the establishment of the publication fund, we are aiming to support artists, as well as public and private institutions working with emerging artists, to publish their first monograph, thereby increasing opportunities to these fresh talents. Then the story will really begin to unfold for the artists …! Lastly to work collaboratively with a commercial patron who genuinely understands and supports the creative process: Acne Studios is in category all its own – a true visionary in a very cluttered landscape.
Aileen Corkery, 10/7/10

Selecting an artist for the first ‘Acne White / Art T-shirt Project,’ was relatively simple – Aileen Corkery, Jonny Johansson and I were all admirers of Stefan Brüggemann’s work so when he accepted our invitation to participate, we were delighted. Stefan and I met several times to discuss the concept of the t-shirt and as well as the practical considerations of its manufacturing and printing. The t-shirt has evolved over the last couple of months and I feel Stefan has created a unique and original piece of work that is at the same time desirable and accessible. I’m sure some people will collect the t-shirt and keep it in it’s box and possibly may even decide to collect the series, but the most thrilling part for me would be to see someone walking down the street wearing Stefan’s t-shirt. Particularly as the funds raised by this project will go towards supporting emerging artists with the publishing of their first monograph.
Laura Burlington, 10/7/10

STEFAN BRUGGEMANN 'WORLD'S END' NEW PUBLICATION, EDITION OF 500, INCLUDING CONVERSATION WITH FRENCH SOCIOLGIST GILLES LIPOVETSKY

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STEFAN BRUGGEMANN AT YVON LAMBERT IN NEW YORK

Headlines & Last Line in the Movies
Stefan Brüggemann.
Opening: Saturday, February 27, 2010 from 6-8pm
Exhibition on view until April 10, 2010
Yvon Lambert NY, 550 West 21st Street, New York, NY 10011-2812,

Brüggemann explores a variety of mediums including sculpture, video, painting, and drawing. He frequently employs text, demonstrating a pop aesthetic while maintaining a critical attitude towards the sociological context from which it is derived. For this exhibition, Brüggemann presents Headlines & Last Line in the Movies, a site-specific installation that covers the gallery walls with mirrored panels. On these mirrors, written with spray paint, are a list of recent newspaper headlines and a selection from the final dialogue of dramatic movies. A series of fluorescent light sculptures mounted upon the ceiling by Brüggemann illuminates the exhibition.

Myriad contrasts and communalities are revealed within this work. Brüggemann selects text from both newspapers and the cinema, therefore juxtaposing reality and fiction. Both movies and the news are important reflections of our culture that not only influence, but also manipulate the public’s comprehension of society. To the artist, the text of Headlines & Last Line in the Movies function as maxims, seducing our innermost unconscious.

Stefan Brüggemann (b. 1975, Mexico City) currently lives and works between Mexico City and London. His recent solo exhibitions include: Black Box, curated by Philippe Pirotte and Eva González-Sancho, Kunsthalle Bern and Frac Bourgogne, Dijon, France, 2008. Recent group exhibitions include: Escultura Social: New Generation of Art from Mexico City, MCA, Chicago, 2007; Nothing, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, 2006; Off-key, curated by Philippe Pirotte, Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland, 2006; and Beck’s Futures Award, ICA, London, 2006. Recent publications include: JRP Ringier publication edited by Nicolas de Oliveira with essays by Chris Kraus, Michael Bracewell and Caoimhín Mac Giolla Léith.

STEFAN BRUGGEMANN'S NEW NEON AT THE SALA DE ARTE PUBLICO SIQUEIROS IN MEXICO CITY!

STEFAN BRUGGEMANN'S EXCHANGE WITH ROBERT BARRY AS PART OF 'OFFER AND EXCHANGE'

http://www.electra-productions.com/projects/2008/offer_exchange/overview.shtml