Read weekly reviews of must-see shows across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The spring issue of frieze d/e is out now with essays by Ed Atkins, Kirsty Bell and Hannah Black on the return of “The Abject” in art; plus, features on Thea Djordjadze, Yngve Holen and Jochen Lempert; and a look at Omer Fast’s film adaptation of Remainder by Tom McCarthy.
Dossier: The Abject
In a new section, we trace the history of “abjection” in art—from Georges Bataille’s formless universe to Getty’s visual trend of 2016, “Messthetics”—with three new essays on the theme, including “Data Rot” by Ed Atkins, “This is Crap” by Hannah Black and “Rag-Picking” by Kirsty Bell.
Shape Shifting: Thea Djordjadze
“It would be an exaggeration to call Djordjadze’s quasi-spaces haunted houses, but the works of the Georgian-born, Berlin-based artist are often ‘unheimlich,’ and very rarely at rest.” Matthew McLean looks at the migrating sculptures and installations of Thea Djordjadze.
Also featuring:
Karen Archey encounters bodily and technological extremes in the work of Yngve Holen; Patrizia Dander discovers how biology adapts to art in the work of photographer Jochen Lempert; and Saim Demircan explores Veit Laurent Kurz’s topographies of fear.
Elsewhere in the issue:
State of the Art: frieze d/e co-publisher Jörg Heiser looks at how popular philosopher Peter Sloterdijk’s recent remarks about refugees have been picked up by the neo-right-wing in Germany.
Health: frieze d/e editor Dominikus Müller examines art, therapy, burnout and the case of Jeppe Hein.
Film: Bert Rebhandl on artist Omer Fast’s feature film adaptation of Tom McCarthy’s novel Remainder, shown at this year’s Berlinale International Film Festival.
Surveillance: Julia Scher discusses her series of “Surveillance Beds,” recently on view at Natalia Hug Gallery, Cologne.
Plus reviews of 18 of the most interesting shows from across Germany, Austria, Switzerland and elsewhere—including New Objectivity: Modern German Art in the Weimar Republic, 1919–1933 at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Images at the Fridericianum, Kassel, and Christian Jankowski at Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin.
Subscribe today and visit frieze.com to explore the archive.