Upcoming exhibitions 2022

Heidelberger Kunstverein is delighted to present three different solo projects opening on Saturday, June 11, at 4pm.

Das Etablissement der Tatsachen by Alice Creischer
The Establishment of Matters of Facts was the guiding principle of the early empirical sciences. They introduced a new power to the world: the power of facts. Experimental research was supposed to deliver truths unaffected by belief systems and free from dominant interests. Alice Creischer has deliberately mistranslated this motto into “Das Etablissement der Tatsachen.” That title may sound disreputable, yet, not without reason. Creischer’s installation shows that the normative power of the factual is a regime in its own right, formed by economic and political interests.

At the centre of her installation is a reconstruction of a vacuum pump that the scientist Robert Boyle used in the 1660s to prove the existence of the absence of air from a space. His claim led to an argument with the political theorist Thomas Hobbes who feared that if the existence of a vacuum could be proven through experiments alone, this space would be exempt from government control and might provoke a political vacuum, i.e., anarchy and civil war.

Reality is the worst-case scenario by Philipp Timischl
What are the consequences of increasingly defining our reality based on media-generated experiences? How do we perceive our environment, identity, social status, and gender whilst constantly comparing these aspects of life to the mass media contents that algorithms select for us? Philipp Timischl’s work confronts us with precisely these issues. In his work, he draws on personal experiences and links them to popular topics, genres and motifs prevalent in contemporary mass media.

At the centre of his exhibition is the debut of the spectacular LED sculpture Reality is the worst-case scenario, LA to NY (Austin) from 2022. The work consists of concise, fast-paced video sequences recorded during a road trip across the US. Timischl confronts the viewer with a complex montage of disparate information. Next to filmed landscapes and (sub-)urban scenes, fragments of dialogue and tunes from the radio appear as subtitles on the screen. In addition, Timischl uses a synchronised screen displaying the current status of the journey. The fragmented dialogues touch on a wide variety of topics. The range seems infinite, partly arbitrary and extremely condensed: death, life and gas prices. Religion, friendship and Beyoncé. Factory farming, unpaid work and the weather. In the meantime, Beyoncé sings, “I was here, I live”. May it all be constructed? Yet, does something have to be untrue just because it might be fake?

Revision—part II by Céline Condorelli
With her Support Structures, artist Céline Condorelli changes how we understand and use institutions. For Heidelberger Kunstverein, she creates a space to sit, wait, read, learn, meet, speak, lecture, listen, discuss and think.

Revision—part II consists of a modular system of six newly produced units that visitors can easily move around. The mobility of the structures allows for flexibility in terms of usage and function. In this vein, visitors and employees of the Kunstverein alike can generate numerous scenarios by collectively utilising the structures to their needs. 

The project thus transforms the entrance area of the Kunstverein into a learning environment for testing out ideas around spectatorship, engagement and participation. For example, the units can be connected to construct a performance space or an auditorium, joined together to create a communal workspace, or simply be used as a place to rest. Activated by ongoing cooperation with the art historical, sociological and pedagogical faculties of the University of Heidelberg, the project explores the relationship between exhibition and pedagogy through different disciplines. 

It is accompanied by various measures to open up the institution, such as free admission to the Kunstverein’s exhibitions from June onwards.

Curated by Søren Grammel.