INTERVIEW: SANTIAGO YDANEZ

Supersized canvases, theatrical portraits, stuffed-out deers - thats how we know Santiago Ydanez’ art work. In his recent exhibition "Gracias por todo" in Berlin, however, he put his most funny paintings on display. The spanish artist can celebrate great success, but he is very much down to earth - and, against all my expectations, incredibly cheerful. He is all smiles and his laughter is contagious. Last week we spend an afternoon in his Berlin-based gallery Invaliden1, talking about his passion for animals, big and fast brushstrokes and existentialism. Click here or below to see the whole interview.

BERLIN: DAG ERIK ELGIN'S "ORIGINALS"

all images: Installation views, Dag Eric Elgin "Originals", courtesy Galerie Opdahl, photos by Eric Tschernow

Not just since last year's art forgery case concerning Wolfgang Beltracchi, the art world had to reveal its ignorance of assigning paintings to originals or fakes. Nevertheless, the myth of original artworks fascinates: their history, their relevance and of course their value. The Norwegian artist Dag Erik Elgin (*1962) immersed himself in the virtuous craft of his favourite masters and learned copying them. Cézanne's skulls, Malevich's minimalist forms, something that could be a Braque or a Picasso  - six paintings at Galerie Opdahl in Berlin create the illusion of originality, underlined by original (and extremely pricy) frames. Elgin collects frames since years: similar to his painterly method, he investigates in their history, their provenience.

The opposite gallery-wall reflects the six works in dark paint, just as in the style of Kazimir Malevich's suprematistic black square. Egin seems to accept Malevich's manifesto "From Cubism to Suprematism" at face value, when transferring it into a visual concept of his own in the gallery space. Anyway, "Originals" turns out to be a very personal exhibition: two of the paintings are not copies, but Elgin's own continuation of cubist aesthetic.