Le charme indiscret

Curated by Kiki Seiler-Michalitsi

The group exhibition in the fall brings together representatives of a young, internationally active art scene, who meet for the first time in an exhibition in which both the specifically individual and the inevitably common are presented. Conceptual thinking, a preoccupation with everyday materials, everyday habits and social phenomena, as well as the indiscreet charm of an enigmatic yet humorous critique of the times prove to be the predominant commonality of the artistic works, despite the differences in artistic practice.

Conceptual implications of material processes characterize the artistic practice of Vanessa Billy (*1978 in Geneva, lives in Zurich). She not only conducts research into sculpture and themes such as transformation and recycling, but also into the cultural use of natural resources. The transformation of everyday objects, speculative reactions to the actionist behavior of the human/technology team, as well as the supposed influence of technology on human thought and action become the focus of artistic investigations.

Gina Folly's (*1983 in Zurich, lives in Basel) artistic work (drawing, photography, installation and sculpture) deals with the effects of cultural and social changes on everyday realities, habits and the self-image of the individual. These can manifest themselves in the relationship to one's own body or, for socio-economic reasons, in the relationship between working and living spaces. Objects and symbols of socio-cultural phenomena are adapted and transformed, plants and animals, sounds and scents become important components of the works.

Jan Kiefer's (*1979 in Trier, lives in Basel) conceptual works (painting, sculpture, installation) deal with everyday life and everyday habits, with social phenomena and norms, with crafts and modern cults or with his own biography. Using familiar, often banal symbols made of sometimes raw building materials, or in a classic painting, display or art nouveau aesthetic, they oscillate humorously, yet undisguised, between kitsch, past and present, between everyday objects and staged works of art, they appear minimalist or abstract.

The trained musician (violin) and autodidactic painter Francisco Sierra (*1977 in Santiago de Chile, lives in Cotterd/Waadt) uses a personal visual language in which the world of things, objects and everyday objects or landscapes experience a "charming", dreamlike exaggeration. His masterfully crafted, photorealistic or hyper-realistic paintings are preceded by crude clay models, which he emphasizes in a monumental two-dimensional way and embellishes with ambiguous drawings and surreal, unadulterated humour. In the superficially playful ambiguity of the caricature-like, grotesque-like, obscure motifs, the abysmal, humorous transgression of taste boundaries or discomfort, charmingly ironic criticism of the times is revealed.