STRANGE STRINGS
2024
Strange Strings is the name of the art exhibition, in which Swedish and Berlin creativity meet once again - as already manifested in the interior concept of our showroom . At first glance, Caroline Harrius and Olaf Bastigkeit may seem to have little in common: While she focuses exclusively on one material (ceramics) and a few objects (tiles, plates, mirrors and vases, and again vases), he seems at home everywhere. Sculpture and watercolour drawing, video and light installations, sculptures made of paper, metal, wood - it seems as if there are no materials or techniques that would not appeal to Bastigkeit.
It is only at second glance that one realizes what connects the two artists. On the one hand, there is the depiction of nature, especially floral motifs, which is an essential part of both artists' current work. While Harrius crochets floral motifs onto ceramic vases in her series "Embroidered Objects", thus immortalizing the motif of the flower, Bastigkeit captures the growth and decay of various cut flowers in his short film series "Descendingascending" and shows them as part of chaotic systems in several graphic watercolours in the series "Space is the place".
Olaf Bastigkeit's films are cinematic collages combined with sound. They bear names such as Amarylis, Gladiolis or Lilies and show corresponding bouquets, sometimes in long shot, sometimes very close up. Flowers grow and open, are magnificent and strong, wither and fall apart. A process that we are all familiar with, that we have all observed many times before - and which can nevertheless unfold great power. Olaf Bastigkeit's films show how differently each flower appears in its growth and decay. Depending on their individual characteristics, very different compositions are created that raise questions: What is beauty, what is transience? What is it about this process that touches us, and in which phase of life might we ourselves be? What is waste, what is growth, what is resurrection?
Harrius, who lives in Stockholm, also raises questions with her "Embroidered Objects". Her inconspicuous, traditional household objects such as crocheted curtains, embroidered cushions, floral wallpaper or embroidered vases evoke nostalgia: what do we value today as great art and what do we reject as tasteless frills? To what extent is the history of arts and crafts characterized by gender hierarchies? And how do these possibly continue to affect the arts and crafts of today?
Incidentally, the title "Strange Strings" is another humorous reference to an analogy between the exhibitors - and Bolon. After all, strings are an integral part of Caroline Harrius' work, they run through Olaf Bastigkeit's graphic works, and they form the basis of all Bolon flooring
It is only at second glance that one realizes what connects the two artists. On the one hand, there is the depiction of nature, especially floral motifs, which is an essential part of both artists' current work. While Harrius crochets floral motifs onto ceramic vases in her series "Embroidered Objects", thus immortalizing the motif of the flower, Bastigkeit captures the growth and decay of various cut flowers in his short film series "Descendingascending" and shows them as part of chaotic systems in several graphic watercolours in the series "Space is the place".
Olaf Bastigkeit's films are cinematic collages combined with sound. They bear names such as Amarylis, Gladiolis or Lilies and show corresponding bouquets, sometimes in long shot, sometimes very close up. Flowers grow and open, are magnificent and strong, wither and fall apart. A process that we are all familiar with, that we have all observed many times before - and which can nevertheless unfold great power. Olaf Bastigkeit's films show how differently each flower appears in its growth and decay. Depending on their individual characteristics, very different compositions are created that raise questions: What is beauty, what is transience? What is it about this process that touches us, and in which phase of life might we ourselves be? What is waste, what is growth, what is resurrection?
Harrius, who lives in Stockholm, also raises questions with her "Embroidered Objects". Her inconspicuous, traditional household objects such as crocheted curtains, embroidered cushions, floral wallpaper or embroidered vases evoke nostalgia: what do we value today as great art and what do we reject as tasteless frills? To what extent is the history of arts and crafts characterized by gender hierarchies? And how do these possibly continue to affect the arts and crafts of today?
Incidentally, the title "Strange Strings" is another humorous reference to an analogy between the exhibitors - and Bolon. After all, strings are an integral part of Caroline Harrius' work, they run through Olaf Bastigkeit's graphic works, and they form the basis of all Bolon flooring
