We are thrilled to invite you to the openings of PRIMA NOVA II, our unique exhibition format curated by Johann Haehling von Lanzenauer, in which we feature 7 international artists in both our galleries in Hamburg and Berlin.
PRIMA NOVA II HAMBURG
Opening 30th November, 6.30 PM – 10 PM
Exhibition: 30.11.2023 – 02.03.2024
PRIMA NOVA II BERLIN
Opening 7th of December, 6.30 PM – 10 PM
Exhibition: 07.12.2023 – 02.03.2024
To receive the preview catalogue and/or to RSVP for the opening, please contact ana.horta@circleculture-gallery.com
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The second edition of the PRIMA NOVA group show wants to once again cultivate optimism, analyse new aesthetics and topics in the global painting scene as well as seeking to understand the developments of the world views of a new artist generation.
We live in changing and challenging times. A good moment to be resilient by gathering and believing in a positive future in which inspiration and collaboration can be the answer to a happy and balanced life. Art has the power to connect people, inspire them to discuss world views as well as having the role of being the mental and aesthetic forerunner of our civilisation.
The selected artists document a sometimes colorful, dissolving and thus eclectic usage of shapes, figures, and abstraction. It is no wonder that shapes are dissolving, as times of change are also times of turmoil, degradation, and a moment where you create space for the new. Lively, positive, and fun at a first glance, this generation carries a certain ironical despair on the inside and manages to show it without losing hope.
The American artist Shantell Martin manifests a strongly self-confident line in her drawing style. A recognizable reflection of the multifaceted personality she is. As a public speaker, philosopher and curator she loves to facilitate the belief of yourself and the strength to go forward. The figures, words and abstractions she creates, seem to dissolve in the search of a constantly new shape.
In the works of Frank Jimin Hopp the viewer is confronted with oddly familiar consumer goods and images from pop culture that are transformed and distorted. They are vessels of forces that slowly threaten to destroy our world. The thematic distortion is underlined by the artist’s unique interrogation of the material of ceramics – soft clay is shaped into organic and yet forceful forms. His paintings cite the animation of the early 2000s in which two-dimensional panels were combined to create digital shapes. Thereby, the paintings emulate not only early video games but also another crucial progression in creating images; it resembles the aesthetics of Cubism and Futurism. Like this formal art historical cluster, Hopp’s artworks often recombine contemporary issues with ancient Korean myths, folklore, or global archetypes. The absurdity of a world in which consumer goods are valued above the planet they are created from is confronted through the artist’s satirical humor, which initially misleads and deceives the viewer.
Focused on painting Paul Grodhues is initially inspired by experiences with Latin American culture. The expression of amusement became characteristic for his works. Beyond the cultural subject of matter his compositions are mainly set up in entertainment venues. Figures and sceneries appear mystic and humorous while also remaining enigmatic. As his paintings evolve in a process of many layers and superimposition, fragmentary elements are used in a targeted manner. They are not always worked out to concrete objects or figures but often end up abstract.
With his eccentric pictorial language, painter and graphic artist Stijn Bastianen moves every viewer. Absurd motifs transport you to a mental zone where recognition and alienation go hand in hand. An atmosphere that is strengthened by using different techniques and materials in an eclectic way. Fantasy and free expression brings creator and spectator together in an illogical, surreal context. During the creative process, the artist’s mind is given free rein. Various aspects of Bastianen’s personal world are deformed in his thought process. While puzzling, he assembles his mental fragments and then paints a composition that transcends the boundaries of the observable world.
Canyon Castator creates large-scale paintings that satirically address our social reality, bringing together an exuberant blend of figures culled from the internet, modern media, politics and personal experience. Castator’s world is hyperbolic, saturated with dissonant characters, knowing symbolism and distorted narratives. His distinctive aesthetic is not tied down to one language but fuses digital and traditional mediums in a cacophony of psychedelic vibrance.
Zdenek Konvalina had already distinguished himself in a successful artistic career in ballet, reaching the highest level of principal. Understanding this brief snapshot of Konvalina helps to frame his process as a painter and the overarching theme of the exhibition. His work oozes a rigorous and disciplined training of perfectly choreographed movements and shapes. There are strokes that might appear accidental, but as in dance, the canvas’ stave-like surfaces demonstrate an unmistakable orchestration. The ephemeral splattering of paint allows a viewer to absorb entire experiences gradually, rather than it being a confrontation of abstracted interpretations or alien hieroglyphs. The paintings are not literal translations of experiences but of collected impressions. One can find themselves relating their own past memories, places and events. Then again, are we maybe just looking for shapes in the clouds?
Although the Old Masters that JURIT takes on, are among the most frequently edited artists, i.e. not just copied, but varied, parodied and transformed again and again, they are unlikely to have been changed more radically. On the one hand, JURIT abstracts, so that figures transform into shapes, illusionistic pictorial spaces become two-dimensional and mixed tones turn into unmixed colors. On the other hand, he symbolically reduces the original pictorial statements while at the same time transferring them to the age of emojis. The picture title and especially a look at the model help to understand JURIT‘s painting. But what if you just look at his pictures? Instead of looking at them analytically to understand the subject and the metamorphoses from the original paintings, you then let them sink in in their entirety. You will follow the curves of individual forms, some of which run through almost the entire picture, perhaps changing direction in a surprising way and sometimes even appearing to gradually transform from an organic to an inorganic substance. And you can feel that everything in JURIT‘s pictures flows into one another; each element appears connected to others, touches, merges, is intertwined. It‘s a big hug.
Johann Haehling von Lanzenauer – curator
