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until 06.04. | #1815ARTatBerlin | Galerie Anna25 presents from 17th February 2018 the exhibition 100 Years John F. Kennedy by the artists Elmar Diks and Aaron Vidal.
John F. Kennedy and his First Lady Jaqueline were stars. The exhibition “100 years of John F. Kennedy” features works by the artists Aaron Vidal and Elmar Diks, who artistically engages with the person John F. Kennedy.
Youthful charm, spirit of departure, media presence – John F. Kennedy was the bearer of hope and projection for the people of the 1960s until his tragic assassination. In a decade marked by the Cuba crisis and the Cold War, a man like Kennedy was a ray of hope. John F. Kennedy and his First Lady Jaqueline were stars. Not only in politics, thanks to the emerging media in the lives of citizens. Hardly any family shaped the 1950s and 1960s in the United States as much as the President Clan Kennedy.
In art, the 1960s was the era of pop art. In the growing consumer society and the mass media, this media-effective president was an icon and a popular subject for the artists. Always at his side: His wife Jackie – idol and ideal of a maturing self-confident generation of women. With the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, this bubble of safety, jubilation, and serenity exploded dramatically. All of America was in shock. The exhibition “100 years of John F. Kennedy” features works by the artists Aaron Vidal and Elmar Diks, who artistically engages with the person John F. Kennedy.
Aaron Vidal, J.F.K. Dallas 23.11.1963, 2017, Acryl auf Leinwand, 60 x 100 cm
At first glance, Aaron Vidal’s paintings are cheerful. The closeness to Pop Art shows with its own handwriting. Clear forms, strong contrasts and contours dominate. The motifs correspond to the lifestyle of the 1960s: Status symbol car, pretty women and Prominent of the time. The mood is exuberant and carefree, but they seem to have a veil of foreboding. An example: the car was more than a means of transport. It was a status symbol, a sign of security and freedom. That Kennedy was just shot in his car hit the heart of this generation.
Aaron Vidal, J.F.K. Dallas 23.11.1963, 2017, Acryl auf Leinwand, 60 x 100 cm
In Vidal’s moving sequence, the artist shows the presidential couple Kennedy smiling and smiling in the car. They are admired and hailed, enjoying the bath in the crowd, unaware that the tragedy is already on their backs.
Overlay, repetition, distortion – These are the foundations in the art of Elmar Diks. The artist is dedicated to the “Digitally Reworked PhotoArt”. Digital post-processing alienates photographs, collages or drawings.
Elmar Diks, Dallas Fossil 4, 2017, Druck auf Leinwand, 100 x 60 cm
Diks’ work ranges between contemporary photography, painting and graphics. They mix traditional techniques and digital art. The result may look quite different: sometimes the paintings are reminiscent of abstract painting, sometimes they are stuck to the aesthetics of photography or remind of woodcuts or other printing processes.
Elmar Diks, Dallas Fossil 3, 2017, Druck auf Leinwand, 100 x 60 cm
The couple Jackie and John F. Kennedy shows the artist only discreetly edited. Instead of strong distortion and abstraction, Diks focuses on a soft, slightly blurred aesthetic. With its softness, “Early Day” emphasizes the delicate, the intimate of the common moment. The slight change does not abstract the picture, it supports its intensity. The focus is on Jackie as a wife, who looks up to her husband with reddened cheeks. Curious, worried, full of love.
Text: Julia Schattauer
Vernissage: Saturday, 17th February 2018, 07:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Exhibition period: Saturday, 17th February to Friday, 06th April 2018
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Image caption: Aaron Vidal, J.F.K. Dallas 23.11.1963, 2017, Acryl auf Leinwand, 60 x 100 cm
Exhibition Elmar Diks + Aaron Vidal – Anna25 | Contemporary Art Kunst in Berlin ART at Berlin
