02 Mar 2016

Clemens Fürtler at Kunsthalle Bratislava

An Austrian artist Clemens Fürtler (1966, Mödling) has been actively engaged in creation of image-generating kinetic objects called 'Bildmaschinen' in recent years. He adjusted his initial installation Bildmaschine 07 from Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck for the exhibition space in Kunsthalle LAB in Bratislava. According to the words of the exhibition curator, Juraj Čarný, 'Clemens Fürtler is not a superficial, intentionally estheticized nor a strategic author. At first glance it might seem that a form of play could be his primary motivation and that he is an artist that elevates the visual effects of play to the area of visual art. But the opposite is true. Clemens Fürtler is not a player, but a constructor.' A gallery visitor can see the author's monumental object built out of model railway and motorway. He examines the miniatures of architectural structures with vehicles moving through the sculptures.  The miniature locomotives and cars are equipped with cameras and lights producing videos and projections on the walls.  He uses slot car tracks and railways as pieces of a construction set from which he constructs new, often absurd, almost utopic architectures. Čarný adds that „Clemens Fürtler aims at the viewer's experience. He focuses on an uninvolved passer-by, an observer who is visually fascinated at first sight. Luminous cars driving on a slot car track form a light art performance where the shadows paradoxically play a more important role than the light itself.'

The Kunsthalle LAB is a window gallery that communicates with passer-byes through window displays. LAB's mission is to present interactive, site-specific projects that use light and sound, provoke active participation of audience and communicate towards the public space of a busy square while disturbing the traditional notion of contemporary art as a solely 'artistic' discipline.

Dom umenia/Kunsthalle Bratislava was established as an outcome of the pursuit of particular artists and theorists as well as the broader cultural public to create a representative exhibition space in the center of Bratislava. The local mission of the Dom umenia/Kunsthalle Bratislava is to make visual art accessible to the general public. In terms of its international aims, the Dom umenia/Kunsthalle Bratislava focuses on highlighting Slovak visual art through systematic networking with major partner institutions abroad.