Kunstraum Richard Sorge
Strich & Faden Exhibition: "Zwilling" by Johanna Schweizer
Johanna Schweizer's fiber chrochet sculpture "Zwilling" (couple).
Size: 61 x 30 x 17 cm, made 2008.
View from the current Strich & Faden art show at Kunstraum Richard Sorge in Berlin-Friedrichshain.
Johanna Schweizer (Netherlands)
Johanna Schweizer is often - lazily - described as the Dutch Louise Bourgeois. This may refer to the surrealist aspects of her work; her perseverance and consistent vision; or the long time it took for the world to catch up with her work.
After impressive presentations at Brutto Gusto fine_arts (Berlin), and her recent participation in the "Just Different" Queer-art exhibition in the Amsterdam Cobra Museum, the interest in Schweizer's oeuvre is now steadily growing.
The artist's extensive collection of crocheted fiber sculptures are made in the last six years. Both profound and witty, it has a wholly un-academic rootedness in contemporary life, alluding to a wide array of themes, from cross-genderness and cross-speciesness; to religious suffering and sexual ritual. Folkloric, pagan, and fairy tale elements are incorporated as well, the sensually playful and the deadly serious going hand in hand. The colorful sculptures offer a perceptive, amused female view of male sexuality and chauvinism that is arguably unique in contemporary art.
From the exhibition "Strich & Faden - Heimat, Folk-art and Travesty:
The folksy German expression "nach Strich und Faden" means to do something thoroughly, with great artistry and precision, or according to the rules of an art or craft. In contemporary language the term has gained connotations of trickery, deceit and travesty. Travesty (in the sense of deceit and role playing) is a device present in many works in this show, either as an artistic attitude, or as a subject matter. The participating artists use it to challenge and extend both the traditions of Art & Crafts and our expectations of art.
Part II of Strich und Faden (May 2009) presents outstanding representatives of the thriving US-american Neocraft scene - some of which are shown in Germany (or Europe) for the first time - and presents them alongside their (Eastern) European colleagues. Strich und Faden II goes beyond crafting however, also incorporating conceptual and neo-traditional works on folklore and regionalism.
Strich & Faden Exhibition: "Zwilling" by Johanna Schweizer
Johanna Schweizer's fiber chrochet sculpture "Zwilling" (couple).
Size: 61 x 30 x 17 cm, made 2008.
View from the current Strich & Faden art show at Kunstraum Richard Sorge in Berlin-Friedrichshain.
Johanna Schweizer (Netherlands)
Johanna Schweizer is often - lazily - described as the Dutch Louise Bourgeois. This may refer to the surrealist aspects of her work; her perseverance and consistent vision; or the long time it took for the world to catch up with her work.
After impressive presentations at Brutto Gusto fine_arts (Berlin), and her recent participation in the "Just Different" Queer-art exhibition in the Amsterdam Cobra Museum, the interest in Schweizer's oeuvre is now steadily growing.
The artist's extensive collection of crocheted fiber sculptures are made in the last six years. Both profound and witty, it has a wholly un-academic rootedness in contemporary life, alluding to a wide array of themes, from cross-genderness and cross-speciesness; to religious suffering and sexual ritual. Folkloric, pagan, and fairy tale elements are incorporated as well, the sensually playful and the deadly serious going hand in hand. The colorful sculptures offer a perceptive, amused female view of male sexuality and chauvinism that is arguably unique in contemporary art.
From the exhibition "Strich & Faden - Heimat, Folk-art and Travesty:
The folksy German expression "nach Strich und Faden" means to do something thoroughly, with great artistry and precision, or according to the rules of an art or craft. In contemporary language the term has gained connotations of trickery, deceit and travesty. Travesty (in the sense of deceit and role playing) is a device present in many works in this show, either as an artistic attitude, or as a subject matter. The participating artists use it to challenge and extend both the traditions of Art & Crafts and our expectations of art.
Part II of Strich und Faden (May 2009) presents outstanding representatives of the thriving US-american Neocraft scene - some of which are shown in Germany (or Europe) for the first time - and presents them alongside their (Eastern) European colleagues. Strich und Faden II goes beyond crafting however, also incorporating conceptual and neo-traditional works on folklore and regionalism.