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until 15.07. | #2061ARTatBerlin | Galerie Verein Berliner Künstler (VBK) presents from 23rf June 2018 the solo exhibition of this year’s winner of the Art Prize of the VBK – Benninghaus Prize 2018 – Detlef Suske.
In addition to other works by the artist, the exhibition titled ANTHROPOZÄN presents the photographic works from the artist’s series “Pomona’s Cabinet” 2017, from which the award-winning work “Pear from Pomona’s Cabinet”, Ed.1 / 9, was awarded.
To listen to the radio report of the rbb Kulturradio please click here: https://www.kulturradio.de/av/programm/das_portrait/2018/das_portrait_7380.html
Photo © Detlef Suske, “Pear from Pomona’s Cabinet”, Ed.1 / 9,
Fine art print on Hahnemühle handmade paper, 35 x 35 cm
The Art Prize of the VBK, donated by the patrons Barbara and Michael Benninghaus, is awarded annually to an artist of the Verein Berliner Künstler. The award recognizes a work that is representative of the artist’s total work. This year’s VBK Art Prize went to the artist Detlef Suske on January 26, 2018.
The external expert jury in 2018 formed Mrs. Dr. Carola Muysers, Mr. Martin Bayer and Mr. Dr. Martin Steffens.
Justification of the jury
The work of Detlef Suske surprises with its simplicity and a process of knowledge linked to it, which invites the viewer to a journey into the late 18th century and back to the present.
The eye confronts us with the banal image of a fruit: a pear. On closer inspection you can see discrepancies: a flaw appears as a blemish, the stalk appears artificial and it is an inventory number to recognize. For the observers, this raises a bundle of questions that revolve around the natural origin of the object and its purpose.
The accompanying text explains that here no original fruit, but the representation was photographed: specifically the colored wax cast of a pear. This wax casting was created in the environment of the Dessau-Wörlitzer court under Franz von Anhalt-Dessau, who is remembered as the author of the Dessau-Wörlitz garden landscape. As part of this horticultural activities, many varieties of fruit were bred, some of which no longer exist today. They are only visible as waxy reproductions, which makes Detlef Suske the subject of his art.
Formally strict and supposedly simply photographed, Detlef Suske’s work, which is actually 30 pieces long, unfolds a remarkable depth. The jury was persuaded by the conceptual stringency and the well-researched and photographed way of working to award the artist the Benninghaus Art Prize of the VBK 2018.
ARTIST STATEMENT: “Pomonas Kabinett”
I was born in Dessau, worked during my studies in the castles and gardens surrounding the city such as Mosigkau and Wörlitz. So for me there is always a refreshed by visits relationship with this region. In 2016, through a search in the archives of the Kulturstiftung Dessau-Wörlitz, I found a collection of historical wax fruits stored there. Leopold Friedrich Franz von Anhalt-Dessau (1740-1817) is considered one of the most enlightened German princes of his time, reformed schools and administration and is considered the author of the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Kingdom – located about 100 kilometers south of Berlin.
As part of the land beautification numerous fruit trees were planted in the countryside and gardens around the end of the 18th century. Prince Franz chose the fruits wisely. After all, pomology – the pomegranate named after the goddess of garden fruits Pomona – was one of his hobbyhorses. First, you tried the fruits in your own garden. If they were suitable, they were grown on roads, dykes and orchards for the benefit of all. In his study in the Gothic house near Wörlitz, from which Prince Franz could look through a round window into the orchard, he kept his “Pomological collection”. It was first presented in 1795 and is a collection of hollow wax fruits in natural size and color. Liquid, colored wax was poured into a mold, by pivoting the hollow body was formed. Cooled, it could be removed from the mold and painted. These small works of art were created in the skillful hands of a Dessau confectioner.
Photo © Detlef Suske, from Pomona’s Cabinet, Fine Art Print on Hahnemühle handmade paper
The fragile works of art still tell of an incredible diversity of varieties. They are kept in the Gothic House and now have a new, highly up-to-date dimension: many of the preserved objects have died out as fruit and must be regarded as artefacts. This makes the wax fruits an exciting contribution in the current debate about biodiversity. For by destroying and dismembering habitats, biodiversity on Earth has been declining for decades. After extensive research and intensive preparatory work, I had the exclusive opportunity to photograph the wax fruits as contemporary witnesses of biological diversity – as a kind of modern vanitas still life, which points to the self-induced transience of our habitats. As in all of my conceptual photo series, it is also about the time factor and the human impact on our environment. At first glance, the fruits on the photos look like real fruit, only a second glance reveals the damage that has occurred over the centuries and the numbering required for archiving. “Pomona’s Cabinet” sharpens the view, evokes questions and reflection.
VITA DETLEF SUSKE
Born 1966 in Dessau, Germany
1993 – 94 Film and Television Studies, University of Glasgow, Scotland
1994 Scotch Video Award for the short film “The Musicians”
1991 – 97 Studied journalism, University of Mainz, Germany
since 1994 freelance photographer
2004 Artist in Residence Barcelona, Spain & Documentary “Die Klimawechsler” (ARD, 3sat, Phoenix, MDR)
2005 – 07 Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie Berlin, class Prof. Ute Mahler
2005 – 08 Lecturer for Photography Hochschule Magdeburg
2006 documentary “Ice Cold Summer” (3sat, participation Tegernsee Filmfestival)
2006 Artist-in-Residence Scholarship Altes Spital Solothurn, Switzerland
2006 Nomos-Art-Scholarship Glashütte / Saxony
2008 Scholarship Künstlerhaus Lukas Ahrenshoop, Germany
2009 documentary “A Taste of Home” (60 min, sponsored by the SA Foundation),
World premiere film festival “Bollywood & Beyond”, Stuttgart 2010
2009 book “Antiquities of the Future” Mitteldeutscher Verlag Halle (Saale)
2009 Central German Journalist Award
2010 documentary “Parven and the smile Buddha” (ARD / MDR)
2011 Studio scholarship Maltator Gmünd (Carinthia), Austria
since 2012 member of Verein Berliner Künstler (VBK)
2012 Art Prize New Kunsthaus Ahrenshoop
2013 studio stay Neues Kunsthaus Ahrenshoop
2014 Studio scholarship “artist on a hill” Wald / Zurich, Switzerland
2015 studio scholarship Kirchenstadel, Bellwald / Wallis, Switzerland
2017 Studio scholarship NAIRS Center for Contemporary Art Scuol, Switzerland
Exhibitions (selection)
1991 Gallery Material Goods & Tropical Fruits Dessau
1995 Galerie Johannbau Dessau
1996 University of Mainz
1997 Fortress Mark Magdeburg
2003 Gallery 28, Magdeburg
2003 Cavalier house Schloss Pietzpuhl
2004 MDR radio station Magdeburg
2005 AOK Gallery Halle (Saale)
2006 Architecture Forum Touringhaus Solothurn, Switzerland
2006 Gallery Beatrice Brunner Bern, Switzerland
2006 Gallery Artium, Hundertwasser House Magdeburg
2007 Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, exhibition participation “Schwiz Lounge”
2007 Galerie Himmelreich, Magdeburg
2007 Gallery Spiegelsalon, Berlin
2008 Gallery Jung-Wetterney, Berlin
2009 Gallery Ulrich Grimm, Magdeburg
2010 “Der Dinge Stand” – exhibition of the artists’ association Saxony-Anhalt
2011 Maltator Gmünd (Austria)
2012 Municipal Gallery Berlin
2012 Neues Kunsthaus Ahrenshoop (group exhibition)
2012 Galerie Parterre Berlin (group exhibition)
2013 Gallery Association of Berlin Artists (group exhibition)
2013 Kunsthaus am Roten Rathaus Berlin
2014 annual exhibition AOK
2014 Kunstverein Halle (Saale), Germany
2014 Gallery Verein Berliner Künstler (group exhibition)
2015 GiftRoom Berlin
2015 ArtCenter South Florida – Miami Beach, United States
2016 Exhibition Center Grimselhospiz, Switzerland
2017 Exhibition participation Galerie Miklautz Gmünd, Austria
2018 Exhibition participation “Spot on NAIRS” Scuol, Switzerland
Works in private collections in France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well as in the art library of the municipal gallery Berlin, the art collection of the city Gmünd / Austria and the spinner-foundation Bellwald / Switzerland
Vernissage: Friday, June 22, 2018, 7:00 pm; Introduction: Dr. Christiane Stahl, Director Alfred Ehrhardt Foundation, Music: Karen Weber, cello
Exhibition period: Saturday, June 23 to Sunday, July 15, 2018
ACB in the VBK – artist talk: Monday, July 9, 2018, 7.30 pm. As part of the exhibition, the ARTS CLUB BERLIN presents the artist talk with award winner Detlef Suske in the gallery Association of Berlin Artists
Finissage: Sunday, July 15, 2018, 2:00 pm
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Exhibition Detlef Suske – Galerie Verein Berliner Künstler | Zeitgenössische Kunst in Berlin | Contemporary Art | Exhibitions Berlin | Galleries Berlin | ART at Berlin
