Rethinking art
Experiencing art in a new way - the best way to do this is to leave the beaten track. Five extraordinary exhibition concepts impressively demonstrate how versatile art and culture can be presented if you dare to think outside the box and pursue innovative approaches.
1. Herbarium wall in the NAWAREUM
The NAWAREUM in Straubing is a new hands-on museum dedicated to sustainability and climate protection. Since its opening in 2023, the unique herbarium wall has been one of the special highlights. The arrangement hangs in frames of different sizes and depths to highlight the diversity and beauty of renewable raw materials. Over 80 plants were collected, pressed, preserved in the meantime, glued onto sheets, sewn and then hung. However, the arrangement is not random, but deliberately structured so that the plants can be sorted into groups. If you want to find out more about the plants and how they are used, you can take a seat on the benches in front of the exhibit. Tablets are available there to enrich the herbarium wall with further information.
Christina Stahl
She has been a museum educator at the NAWAREUM since 2019 and has a great passion for plants. The herbarium wall is one of her favorite projects.
2. HÔTEL NOIR
The first exhibition of the award-winning book “HÔTEL NOIR” by J. Konrad Schmidt took place in the elegant black rooms of the CAPITIS Gallery in Hamburg. 53 analog black and white photographs, in DISTANCE frames made of black oak with Mirogard glass, enhanced the intimacy inherent in these images. The pictures were taken over a period of 14 years as part of the “HÔTEL NOIR” book project. During this time, Schmidt staged over 70 women in sensual poses or during lovemaking, always in the anonymity of silhouette-like light and luxury hotels. These places are “social experimentation centers without a mandate”, where the conventions of everyday life are suspended and the models can move freely in a very special atmosphere. His second book “HÔTEL NOIR II” was published a few days ago.
J. Konrad Schmidt
J. Konrad Schmidt studied photography near Stuttgart and has been traveling the world as a freelance photographer since 2010.
Oliver Heinemann, CAPITIS Gallery Hamburg
3. potential.png
“potential.png” embodies the idea of a digital palimpsest in which the past, present and future of image production coexist. The central motif of the “chalice”, generated by StyleGAN2, overturns the relationships of traditional art production and pushes new spaces over old photographic practices. The unconventional presentation of the work is an integral part of its statement: the picture, including the glass, is now only in the basic element of the HALBE frame, while the actual wooden frame has been removed and placed separately as an independent object. This deconstruction of the classic framing reflects the overwriting of traditional art production by digital processes. The work shows a form of digital healing: the upheaval in art production becomes visible, while at the same time traces of earlier pictorial worlds shine through. It is an attempt to connect the fragile manifestos of the past with the possibilities of the future and to redefine the present in the process.
Konstantin Weber
As a conceptual artist, Konstantin Weber explores the connection between technology and art, inspired by photography and technology.
Medium: Fuji Crystal DP II
Presentation: picture and glass in a HALBE frame, removed wooden frame placed separately
Dimensions: 120 x 120 cm
Technique: AI-generated image (StyleGAN2).
©Leon Billerbeck
4. Trading cards
Denis Scrocca was inspired by a video in which Justin Bieber showed his passion for trading cards. A frame with the first generation of Pokémon in particular evoked childhood memories for him. As he has a collection of his own, which is usually stored in collector's books in his cupboard, he decided to display his cards in a visible way. An unused jersey frame under his bed lent itself to this project. After a friend shared the finished work on Instagram, the initial hobby developed into a small business.
Denis began designing smaller and more affordable frames to offer collectors an alternative way to present their cards. He makes sure that the frames are of good quality and visually appealing. He shows the finished frames on his Instagram page: @framesbyzeus
Denis Scrocca
Denis Scrocca is a creative collector who is passionate about designing high-quality trading card frames and presenting them on Instagram.
5. The colour of water: water columns from the Tagus River to the Atlantic Ocean
Nicolas Floc'h's installations, photographs, films, sculptures and performances question an era of transition in which currents, disappearance and regeneration play an essential role. His visual and documentary work on global change focuses on the representation of invisible spaces (underwater landscapes, the materialization of currents, the interdependence of environments, natural and artificial cycles on a large spatial and temporal scale, etc.).
His artistic expeditions and long-term projects, which are fed by experiences, oceans, water, scientific research and encounters, produce open-ended works that are rooted in reality and in which evolutionary processes play an important role. The exhibition took place at MAAT, Lisbon.
Nicolas Floc’h
Born 1970 in Rennes, France.
Lives and works in Paris, France.