Bernd Lohaus – Fremdkörper: works from the studio of Bernd Lohaus. Third presentation: Von der Wiederholung der Träume zur Realität
Event
M HKA, Antwerpen
30 June 2015 - 26 July 2015
THIRD PRESENTATION
30.06→26.07.2015
Von der Wiederholung der Träume zur Realität
As the title suggests, this third (and final) presentation is centred around the notion of repetition. The artist insists on that which touches him most, and feels the need to share this repeatedly with the outside world.
In Room 1 we have the 'coudrages' (the word that Bernd Lohaus came up with himself, it corresponds to ‘collage’ and ‘assemblage’), these comprise the third component of what began with concrete poetry and was followed by rows of points made with a sewing machine. Now Lohaus again makes use of the sewing machine, but this time with thread, and so creates - amongst other things - whimsical nodes of intersection.
Several of the works contain the German word 'für' (for). It is a preposition that most explicitly expresses the sense of connection and contact. Not only the content, but the calligraphic aspect as well, is important for Lohaus. The 'f' evokes verticality and the 'r' ends in a gesture of free movement.
Lohaus sees words as not only containing meaning, but also as signs. And so in Room 3, two drawings are shown bearing the word 'Ja' (yes). This directness is in marked contrast to the inner meditation we find present in the text of the sculpture Münster.
Ria Pacquée was asked to propose an idea for the 'examination wall' in Room 2 that would connect with Lohaus's work originally exhibited in situ. While in the previous presentation a reconstruction was attempted by a member of the M HKA's staff, here an artist is invited to contribute her own personal approach. And Ria Pacquée's proposal really nailed it: the original work remains untouched, but the viewer nonetheless becomes involved in the project. At a distance of 240 cm (the length of Lohaus's black line, surveyed by Pacquée), visitors may trace a black vertical line, with or without feeling, on a sheet of paper. This way the visitor can participate in the intervention and approaches the dynamic of the painting.
