Zooming in and out
German-speaking artists present a unique group exhibition in Kuala Lumpur.
LIFE is about perspective and how you look at things. Different angles give you different views.
It’s an approach that German photographer Adrian Bedoy uses for his #throughgermaneyes collection in the Kunst exhibition, which is showing now at the National Art Gallery (NAG) in Kuala Lumpur.
The exhibition, which runs till Dec 30, is a collaboration between NAG and the German Speaking Society of Kuala Lumpur (GSSKL).
It features works from Austrian, German and Swiss artists, who have spent time in Malaysia.
Apart from Bedoy, the line-up for Kunst, which is German for art, includes Tim Bengel, Mario Nubauer, Hannes Schmid, Marina and Irina Fabrizius, Michel Friess and Christian Schwind.
“Art has always been in a constant flux and evolution, pushing the limits of established convention and individual skill,” says curator Isabelle Godbillon, who has been based in Malaysia since 2013.
Kunst provides a broad scope of mediums, showcasing photography, mixed media and paintings.
Godbillon reveals that it was Bedoy’s works that kickstarted the idea for the Kunst show.
Bedoy, 39, a full-time photographer, has a good eye for architecture and art. In his 18 works in Kunst, he showcases KL in such a way that not only wows the viewers but offers a whole new perspective of the city.
“The German mentality is not to look at something and say that is finished. We always take a step to the left and to the right, looking at things in different ways. I took this very German-thinking of changing perspectives and transferred it to my photography,” says the Dusseldorf-based Bedoy.
By using UV print on handcrafted German plexiglass, Bedoy’s images can be viewed through multiple photographic layers, giving each work a multi-dimensional quality.
A highlight is Bedoy’s Crowd ,a 100cm x 100cm photograph, which presents a bird’s eye view of the Petronas Twin Towers and its surroundings.
The KL chapter in Bedoy’s #throughgermaneyes world cities project marks his largest photographic series.
“KL is still working on itself. It is still booming, burning and trying to find its own profile,” he says.
At the NAG gallery, Americana images, oddly enough, have also found their way into the Kunst show.
Swiss-born Schmid’s richly textured oil on canvas work Cowboy#5 is a combination of classic Malboro Man, Hollywood cowboy and existentialism.
In his photographic series, Schmid’s black and white prints are also about capturing the spirit of the American cowboy in its purest form.
“Schmid’s works have been informed by a mythic persona that has transcended generations,” says Godbillon.
For a hint of old school Pop Art, the mixed media series from German-born Friess is worth the investigation.
His is a hip and colourful world of silkscreen prints, paper collages and spray can (paint) finishes, and with works like Bruce Lee, Comic Woman, Marilyn and Daughter Of Shanghai, you can tell that Friess is much informed by the Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and Asian pulp literature.
Kunst is on at the National Art Gallery, Jalan Temerloh, off Jalan Tun Razak in Kuala Lumpur till Dec 30. Opening hours: 10am-6pm daily. More info: artgallery.gov.my. Call 03-4026 7000.