Cornelia Gockel

Provides an overview of the artistic work of Karen Irmer (b. 1974). In her photographs and film installations, which are as poetic as they are analytical, Irmer reflects upon the relationship between illusion and reality, but also between the artwork and the viewer. Text in English and German.

The work originally conceived by the artist couple Hubbard / Birchler for the Swiss Pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale re-constructs the life story of the American artist Flora Mayo. Mayo had a romantic relationship in the 1920s with the Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti. While he is now one of the most famous artists of the twentieth century, her work was de-stroyed, and her life forgotten. Hubbard / Birchler reanimate Mayo’s compelling biography from a feminist perspective, combining reconstruction and documentation to create a multilayered form of narrative. The catalogue, produced for the current exhibition at the Sammlung Goetz, elucidates the research the artists engaged in and documents the installa-tion in an impressive manner

The sculptor Alexandra Hendrikoff has created an impressive and innovative artistic language, which is based on and inspired by nature. Her sculptures resemble cocoons, living organisms and other forms and figures found in nature. This monograph presents images of her sculptures for the first time. Two complementary essays introduce her work. In order to create her often freestanding or floating works of art and collages, Hendrikoff uses natural materials such as yarn, wood and seeds. Her sculptures examine the language of nature and thus challenge our technologised and alienated world view. Her works are to be understood as prototypes of life and are produced with great artisanal skills and patience. Alexandra Hendrikoff was born in Bavaria in 1965. She trained as a carpenter before studying sculpture at the Akademie der Kunste (Academy of Fine Arts) in Munich. Her works are exhibited internationally, and in 2011 she was artist in residence at the Escola de Artes Visuais in Rio de Janeiro.