INTERVIEW: MARCO STANKE

all works © Marco Stanke 

Is it a painting? Or an object? The works of Nuremberg based artist Marco Stanke aim at liberating painting from its traditional limitations and transferring it into space. But in order to be acknowledged as objects his Parts are cleaving too closely to the painterly, whereas their battered and extensive shapes make it hard to let them pass for paintings. Marco Stanke’s works were displayed at the Galerie Haas in Ingolstadt from April to June 2015, as part of the group exhibition YOUNG BLOOD. A few days ago he was awarded with the Kunstpreis der Nürnberger Nachrichten for his Kollektiv, shown in the associated exhibition at the Kunsthaus Nuremberg until the 6th of September. I spoke to Marco about his cross genre approach, which leads not only into the three-dimensional but also into the musical space. 

INTERVIEW: LARS BJERRE

all works © Lars Bjerre "The Robbery", courtesy the artist and Hunter/Whitefield, London

Looking at the work of Danish artist Lars Bjerre, one will not only notice the versatility and beauty of his detailed depictions, but will also come to realise that there is a golden thread that has been running through his paintings and installations over the years: A history of storytelling. Also his most recent series "The Robbery", which is currently on display in London at the recently opened gallery Hunter/Whitfield, reminds of a cinematic story-board. Five large paintings show a selection of fictive planning scenes, a blue print of the Tower and aesthetically flashy details of the loot and its countless diamonds – the British Crown Jewels – evoking a narrative through the images. Inspired by crime films and the figure of the anti-heroe, the artist's paintings create scenes, with surfaces between neatly applied and extremely smudged gestures. 

Although Lars changes the themes with each new series that he begins, they always incorporate a mise en scène: motifs, such as hunting trophy pictures ("Hunter's Delight") or brawls inside parliament buildings ("Angry Men") are repeated, manipulated and contrived into the dramaturgy of an act. Stage elements, spatial arrangements and objects turn his exhibitions into theatrical installations. But how important is the plot to the artist himself? What is behind these stories? These were some of the questions I asked the Berlin-based artist before his opening in London. 

UDK RUNDGANG 2015

Punk concert  in the hallway of UDK
 all works courtesy and © the artist, all photos © artfridge

The greek "OXI" – NO! – vote was something of a revolutionary credo embracing this year's annual degree show opening at Universität der Künste Berlin. Live punk music blasted through the hallways that were crowded with confused visitors, who wondered "where is the art"? The art was locked down. A loyal gesture to some of their professors, all students had previously decided to raise attention to corrupt professor deals by keeping their doors shut and not letting any guests enter the studio spaces during the opening night. Despite their hope to be picked up during the Rundgang, most students unanimously agreed to the collective act. The protest emphasises the position of a majority of students, who argue that the academy's hierarchical administration structures and their sweetheart deals with famous artists and their friends would not benefit their educational system. The flip side, they say, is that many lesser known guest professors receive unfair and bad paid short-term contracts that wouldn't even cover their insurance costs during the holiday period.

INTERVIEW: DANIEL JACKSON

all images copyright Daniel Jackson, courtesy PSM gallery and the artist

Born in 1972, Daniel Jackson grew up in Texas, where he enjoyed punk rock records, captured his surroundings with his camera and bought lifestyle magazines that sparked his curiosity in big cities and in the arts. In New York, where Daniel took a MFA in painting and lived for seven years, he began developing an aesthetic language dedicated to the discovery of seemingly unspectacular moments and gestures in everyday life. Terrified by the attacks of 9/11, a former girlfriend brought the artist to Germany, where he would eventually settle in Berlin.

Daniel pursues an experimental artistic practice using various media. He applies techniques from painting, printing, sculpting, photography, and video art. The Berlin based artist is influenced by social media aesthetics, elements of design and, in particular, by science fiction, while also confronting himself with existential themes, such as the fear of failure. I talked to the artist about his his inspiration, the discovery of patterns and boredom in Texas.

INTERVIEW: ANDERS DICKSON

work by Anders Dickson, courtesy the artist

Anders Dickson is a 1988 American-born artist who has been based in Germany for the past five years. Having previously studied Philosophy in The States, he is now a student of Monika Baer and Amy Silman at The Städelschule Frankfurt. While Dickson works in several mediums, his dreamlike subjects and unique use of colour make his pieces pervade a sense of the supernal. Inspired by elements of American culture; from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, to the Native American figure of the ‘Trickster’, the artist balances elements of mythology, philosophy and nature in order to confront the mystery of human identity in contemporary society. Dickson’s work is currently on view as part of a group show ‘Der zweite Blick’ at Galerie Scharmann & Laskowski in Cologne.