Volker Lang Spirit Lovers – Installation in 3 parts Opening Friday 20. April 2012 7 p.m. Exhibition duration 21. April - 15. June 2012
The artist Volker Lang, who lives and works in Hamburg, is staging model like spaces of artificial houses that are not meant to be lived in, theatre stages and circus tents halves as well as tableaus with figurativ sculptures and reliefs. He realised and conceptionalised works from art sections such as literature and music to create his installation spaces often with the participation of people, be it through the recording of their voices or tunes. Of the mostly ephemeral appearances there are some permanent placings in public spaces. In a first solo show in OsterwaldersArtOffice Lang is stageing his work Spirit Lovers of 2008. The installation in three parts consists of a carved wooden sculpture, a revolving ascending Maddonna who apperars from the rear view as an abstract form or a cloudscape, nine black and white photographs from Neaples and sourroundings and, a nine minute sound collage from Roberto Rossellinis Film Journey to Italy of 1953 as well us further works by Lang. The sculpture carved from limewood is based on a baroc Mary Immaculata by the Austrian sculptor and architect Matthias Steinl (1644-1727). Ascending into the sky standing on a high pillar, the original was conceived to assume the cloudscape form from the beginning. Journey to Italy is about the journey of an English couple Katherine and Alex (Ingrid Bergmann and George Sanders) to Neaples to sell the house of a deceased Oncle. What has been planned as a rational transaction, the couple is experiencing the perception of an estrangement from each other and themselves being triggered by the city of Neaples with the spirit of its places and their cultures that still exist beside its real life.	The photographs were accrued during Lang’s repeated stay in Neaples between 1994 and 1996. The Motifs are very similar to the captions in the film being the places (Cuma, Baia, Pompeij, Capri, Solfatara...) visited by Katherine (Ingrid Bergmann). ...Langs’ „production“ needs another picture component in the room that is locating the actuality of the view – the view of our immediate time, the view of the artist Volker Lang. Here he is discovering landscapes with self chosen frames. A series of black and white landscape photographs of Neaples and sourroundings (Cuma, Baia, Pompeij, Capri, Solfatara...) are responsible that we are tracing this view. The spirit of irreality, strangeness, but also the feeling of the untouchebility of these landscapes accompanying us with a nostalgic breath. As if in this picture something important has been lost, something that we are missing... Ali Hashemi July 2008 Volker Lang (born 1964 in Augsburg) studied after his training as a church painter (1985-88) until 1994 at the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg (HBK). He received many awards und scholarships like a work scholarship of the Kunstfonds Bonn e.V., or for Venice, Centro tedesco di studi Veneziani as well as the Karl-Schmidt-Rottluff-Stipendium. Lang realised several projects in public spaces amongst others. Shenjas Raum (2004) junge Kunst Wolfsburg, or Ich sehe Indien (I see India) in Travemünde sowie in the Overbeck-Gesellschaft, Lübeck. Also a memorial against war and dictator ship to commemorate 60 years of the Hamburger Feuersturm (Hamburg firetorm). The artist participated in many national and international solo- and group shows. He lives and works in Hamburg and will be present at the opening. german version
Susan Collins Shez Dawood (shez360) Christiane Gerlach Heino Goeb Vanessa Grannum Kevin Francis Gray Richard Hartwell Tim Head Bertolt Hering David Neat Eva Klatten Martin Paulus Nemo G. Struckmeier Gallery Profile Gallerien in Hamburg Impressum Contact	Osterwalder´s Art Office Isestrasse 37 20144 Hamburg Tel. ++ 040 486109 Fax. ++ 040 46882425 Geöffnet: Di - Fr 14 - 18 Uhr, Sa 10 - 14 Uhr