Franz Kapfer: Atlases—Me or the Chaos / Isabel Lewis, Dirk Bell: Ever/Repair

HALLE FÜR KUNST Steiermark is delighted to present two exhibitions that share an interest in history and its political impact. Both shows address oppression in their own way and with their respective different forms. While Franz Kapfer (b. 1971, Styria) attempts to bring these aspects to a head and name them pointedly, Isabel Lewis (b. 1981, Santo Domingo) and Dirk Bell (b. 1969, Munich) focus on a playful and tangible resolution using a broad spectrum of artistic means.

Franz Kapfer: Atlases—Me or the Chaos
History does not only shape the present; the after-effects of the supposed past that we feel echoing in our current times will also stretch far into the future. Mythical narratives inscribe themselves into society and its political bodies, which in turn influence whose stories are told and whose remain untold. In his research and interpretation of objects overloaded with historical signifiers, Franz Kapfer investigates methods of historiography and scrutinizes how these approaches may be used and misused both politically and by the media. His works thus reveal the political dimension of historic symbols, ciphers and monuments as well as their influence on today’s societies and their composition.

As part of the Austrian Province of Styria’s appreciation prize for visual arts 2022, Kapfer will realize a group of new large-format works dealing with the mythological figure and sculptural tradition of atlases. Drawing from this titanic sky bearer of Greek mythology, atlases are male, muscular and larger-than-life architectural figures, often appearing as carved pillars supporting the threshold of a building. Kapfer’s newly produced installation will be shown alongside older works by the artist, providing a comprehensive overview of the artist’s methodology. Kapfer is also staging an intervention at Landeszeughaus (Styrian Armory), which houses an extensive collection of weapons from the early modern period in a historical arrangement.

Isabel Lewis, Dirk Bell: Ever/Repair
How we perceive ourselves is deeply interwoven with our experience of interactions with others. Self-perception is always based on a reflection vis-à-vis another person. Ever/​Repair is the collaboration of two artists who have found each other and mutually taken risks: over many years, Isabel Lewis and Dirk Bell have each individually created independent and unconventional bodies of work, which they now combine both as within their personal relationship and in their exhibition at HALLE FÜR KUNST Steiermark.

The title Ever/​Repair plays with language insofar as it makes use of metaphors in order to approach new levels in terms of subject matter. Alongside the meaning of ​“always/​reparation,” the title also refers to an onomatopoetic conflation of the two words every and pair. The entanglement of the words is a symbol of the two individuals now intertwined as if in a ballroom dance. In his artistic practice Bell creates impressive works of highly technical and often fantastical quality. For this exhibition he realizes a performance setting, wherein Lewis conceives a sound piece and performance, based on the play Maskarade (1970) by Jamaican author Sylvia Wynter. It deals with the Jamaican performance tradition of Junkanoo and questions of role reversal, identity and order. In collaboration with the two artists, the British vocalist, performer and artist Rupert Enticknap and performer and pole dancer Yann Slattery will alter the newly adapted piece in relation to the in-situ exhibition, by playing and interacting with it.

Both exhibitions will be accompanied by a series of events ranging from talks and guided tours to various workshops and performances. The exhibition of Franz Kapfer is accompanied by a poster book designed by the artist including a text by Roger M. Buergel, which documents the artist’s research trips and re-localizes his works around the atlases.

Curated by Jan Tappe.

The HALLE FÜR KUNST Steiermark is supported by the Regional Government of Styria, the Austrian Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport, and the City of Graz.

Press inquiries: Helga Droschl