Exhibition number 1

Aponoumena

Exhibition List

This, the first show at the Collapsible Kunsthalle, is titled Aponoumena. This is a neologism which works in several languages because I coined it based on pre-existing Kantian terms. We inherit from Kant two words: noumena and phenomena. The first means "coming fully and solely from the mind" (as we now usually use the word conceptual in the artworld), the second is more well-known and means "ideas arrived at solely from the senses." We use the second term nowadays in a slightly expanded sense, because of the phenomenological philosophical movement. "Apo" is an interesting prefix, because it is clear, but also somewhat contradictory. It means "out of," in the senses of "from" but also "away from." Hence, apotheosis (something given from God), apocrypha (hidden away), apostasy (falling away from a belief), apostrophe (turn away), or apophasis (saying away, mentioning something by denying it). Therefore, my term means "from/away from – mind-reached ideas), better phrased as "coming out of, but getting away from, purely conceptual art notions." I think this describes the art work in this exhibition — and much other art that I find intriguing.

— MSB

1. Marcel Duchamp (after: recreation by M. S. Brandl) Nude Descending a Staircase, No 5 2002 (No. 4 is the "original" in the Stettheimer dollhouse) ink on paper 3.5 x 2.2 cm 2. Mark Staff Brandl Team-Up (Collapsible) 2002/2003 oil and acrylic on linen 12 x 6.5 cm 3. Jeff Hoke Melancholy (one of the Four Humours) 2002 oil on cotton 7.5 x 5 cm 4. Marianne Rinderknecht and Basim Magdy Dream On 2003 inkjet print 21 x 8 cm

5. Mark Francis Implode 2003 ink on paper on cardboard 8 x 7 cm 6. Nicky Hirst Untitled 2003 ink on cut paper 12 x 9.5 cm 7. Peter Noser Welt-Ensemble: Die Welt der Heissgeliebte; Annas Welt; Die Welt des Galerists; Die Welt des Rappenspalters; Albertos Welt 2003 pigment on wood 8. Dave Muller Monochrome #20 2003 acrylic and pencil on paper 3.9 cm x 24 cm

Artist notes

1. Marcel Duchamp, world famous Dada artist, 1887- 1968, Paris and New York, needs no introduction. Considering his Stettheimer piece’s presence as inspiration for this Kunsthalle and the fact that Duchamp allowed others to recreate his works late in his life, I felt it acceptable to reproduce a new version of this work (thus the word "after" in the title list).

2. Mark Staff Brandl, Trogen, Switzerland, an artist of the venticento was born mid novecento near Chicago. He studied art, art history, literature and literary theory at the University of Illinois, Illinois State University, Columbia Pac. University, and is currently working on a Ph.D. at the University of Zurich. His shows include galleries and museums in the US, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Egypt, the Caribbean; specific cities include Paris, Moscow, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. In addition to paintings and installations, he writes on art for New York’s Art in America and London’s The Art Book. Brandl is the curator of this tiny space.

3. Jeff Hoke, Monterey, California, USA, was born 1954 near Chicago, is a museum designer as well as a fine artist and the curator of his own personal Museum of Lost Wonder. Hoke studied art at the University of Illinois, and has lived in England as well as the US. He has exhibited his fine art as well as the artist-book-cum-"house publication" of the Museum for Lost Wonder in many American cities. Most recently he assisted in the creation of a new Museum of Alchemy in Prague, Czech Republic.

4. Marianne Rinderknecht and Basim Magdy. Rinderknecht, St. Gallen, Switzerland, was born 1967 in St. Gallen. She studied art in the Schule für Gestaltung in Basel and has lived in both Los Angeles and Cairo, Egypt as well. She is also known for her curatorial project with Gertrud Genhart, One Night Stand, which involved 10 exhibitions, each including four artists, over two years in hotel rooms throughout Switzerland.

Magdy, was born 1977 in Assiut, Egypt, where he now resides. He studied art at Helwan University in Cairo and has lived in Basel and Ipsden, England as well as Egypt. His exhibitions include those cities and Winthrop, Maine, USA.

This work is a part of a large project titled Dream On in which the two artists unite yet contrast their individual approaches in collaborative paintings, wall paintings, installations and more. Dream On will be shown at the Townhouse Gallery in Cairo (Opening 1.June 2003), and at the Kunsthalle St. Gallen during the Show Sankt Elektronika (Opening 5. September 2003).

5. Mark Francis, London England, was born 1962 in Newtownards, Co. Down in Northern Ireland. He studied at St. Martins School of Art and Chelsea School of Art. He is a well-known painter who came to prominence as a member of the "YBAs" (young British artists) in the 1997 show Sensation, and has been a regular participant in landmark British painting exhibitions over the last decade. Francis shows all over the world and is in many illustrious collections such as the Saatchi Collection, the Tate Gallery in London, the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Deutsche Bank, Germany.

6. Nicky Hirst, London England, was born 1963 in Nottingham, England and spent the early part of her life living in Kenya and then West Yorkshire. She studied art at Jacob Kramer College in Leeds, Maidstone College of Art in Kent and the Kent Institute of Art and Design in Canterbury. She has created many site-specific works which unite conceptual ideas with complex handwork techniques. Her art is in various collections including that of Saatchi and the British Council. She will be included in the upcoming exhibition Infallible.

7. Peter Noser, Montalcino, Italy, and Zurich, Switzerland, was born 1952 in Zurich, Switzerland. He is an artist, curator, author, art advisor and gallerist. Noser had a gallery under his name for many years in Zurich, founded an independent Kunsthaus in Richterswill, worked for Andre Emmerich in New York and has organized numerous exhibitions in many countries. His artworks have been exhibited in New York, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, a.o, and is in a variety of important collections.

8. Dave Muller, Los Angeles, California USA, was born 1964 in San Francisco, California. He is most well known for his exhibition-as-art project Three Day Weekend, which functions simultaneously as a social situation and artwork showcase. This traveling exhibition has taken place in various countries, with Muller personally bringing the works, hanging them and organizing the opening party. He has had many exhibitions of this project as well as his solo work internationally, including such cities and locations as New York; Santa Monica; Frankfurt, Germany; Appenzell, Switzerland; LACMA in Los Angeles and the Royal College of Art in London.

 

(for images click here)