Liebe Freunde,

am 3.Juni eröffnet die Ausstellung "The Poet’s Folly and the Sovereign’s Hand", kuratiert von Alexia Timmermans in der Wehrmühle Biesenthal. Neben Arbeiten von Hannah Ballermann, Laure Prouvost, Lukas Stoever, Nora Aurrekoetxea, Oussama Tabti, Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, Sarina Panahideh, Sebastian Lettner, Tong Kunniao, Ulla von Brandenburg, Verena Issel, Yudith Levin, Zoë Paul, Zora Mann und vielen anderen Künstlern könnt ihr einen Teil aus meiner "Weird Feelings" Serie sehen. Tickets für die Ausstellung, die noch bis zum 30.Juli läuft, gibt es unter diesem Link.

Vielleicht sehen wir uns in Biesenthal!

Bis bald, 
Ulrike

PS: Merkt euch schonmal den 2.Septmeber vor. Zum Spinnereirundgang in Leipzig eröffnet dort meine Einzelausstellung MAHAGONNY bei der Galerie EIGEN+ART.

Dear Friends,

 Please join us for the Opening of "The Poet’s Folly and the Sovereign’s Hand", curated by Alexia Timmermans at Wehrmühle Biesenthal. The show opens this Saturday and runs until July 30th. You can get tickets here.

"Folly has long fascinated as a subject. The fool has evolved as a metaphor conveying the dichotomy between insanity and common sense. While the fool may lack reason, it possesses hidden or prophetic wisdom that is unattainable to the sane. Its most prominent representation, perhaps, is that of a ship with a dysfunctional crew aimlessly crossing the ocean. The allegory of the ship of fools can be traced back to Plato's Republic, and by the sixteenth century, penetrated Western literature and visual arts, with notable works including Sebastian Brant's Das Narrenschiff (Ship of Fools), Hieronymus Bosch's The Cure of Folly, Erasmus of Rotterdam's In Praise of Folly, and more recently, Michel Foucault's Madness and Civilization, which has revived critical attention to this enduring theme.

The term ‘folly’ originates from the French word ‘folie’, which can refer to ‘madness’, ‘lack of good sense’, or ‘false belief’, but can also connote ‘delight’. Over time and across different cultural contexts, the meaning of folly has evolved, with interpretations often lying in the eye of the beholder. In theatre and architecture, follies are typically characterised by formal eccentricities and excesses, aiming at activating the viewer’s perspective. In visual arts, in turn, folly can convey expressions of imagination or self-definition, while also serving as an agent of truth that holds up a mirror to contemporary issues, including the very notion itself.

The exhibition The Poet’s Folly and the Sovereign’s Hand presents the work of 35 international artists who explore the multifaceted nature of folly, through mediums such as paint, sculpture, film, fabric, photography, performance and sound. Offering a critical reflection on the sovereign world of control and rationalism through the realm of human follies, the works on view address various topics which range from cultural clichés and archetypes, to established norms and beliefs, as well as rituals and myths of identity.

Overall, whether redefining the canonical idea of sanity, morality, or power, the works act as paraphrases of a continuous tension that exists between perception and pervasion, personal and historical narratives, cultural restoration and re-imagination. Through the prism of folly, the exhibition presents a view of the world that is at once disturbing and darkly comical, speculative and self-reflective, playful and psychologically charged.

Featuring works by Agnès Varda, Alicja Biala, Anastasia Bay, Anna Kott, Annette Frick, Anri Sala, Antoine Waterkeyn, Cathrin Hoffmann, Emmanuel Bornstein, Etti Abergel, Hannah Hallermann, Heike Gallmeier, Jonas Brinker, Kaspar Müller, Laure Prouvost, Lukas Stöver, Marcelo Viquez, Marianne Berenhaut, Mirosław Bałka, Nora Aurrekoetxea, Oussama Tabti, Pauline Curnier Jardin, Paulo Wirz, Pawel Althamer, Rafaella Braga, Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, Sarina Panahideh, Sebastian Lettner, Tong Kunniao, Ulla von Brandenburg, Ulrike Theusner, Verena Issel, Yudith Levin, Zoë Paul, Zora Mann."

I would be happy to see you there! 

Ulrike

PS: Please save the Date: 2.September and come by to see my Solo Show MAHAGONNY at the Spinnerei Leipzig with Gallery EIGEN+ART.

Abbildungen: oben: RES-ACTIO-REACTIO-EVENTUS, 2022, Tusche auf Papier
unten: Holy Shit!, 2022, Tusche auf Papier aus: "Weird Feelings"