English
Deutsch
until 20.09. | #2106ARTatBerlin | Tschechisches Zentrum Berlin currently shows the exhibition Foreigners of the artist duo David Böhm and Jiří Franta.
The Czech Center Berlin cordially invites you to the opening of the new exhibition “Foreigners” by David Böhm and Jiří Franta on Thursday, July 12, 2018 at 7 p.m. The successful artist duo, whose most important medium of communication is drawing, transcends the limits of standards, between artistic media and our ideas about the medium of drawing itself. In the summer exhibition of the TZB Gallery they ironically and playfully investigate the phenomenon of being a foreigner, both with regard to life in the closed Bohemian basin and also based on their own travel experiences.
Jiří Franta + David Böhm
David Böhm, Jiří Franta: Foreigner
The successful artist duo David Böhm and Jiří Franta, whose most important medium of communication is drawing, transgress the boundaries of standards, between artistic media and our ideas about the medium of drawing itself. In the summer exhibition of the TZB Gallery they ironically and playfully investigate the phenomenon of being a foreigner, both with regard to life in the closed Bohemian basin and also based on their own travel experiences.
In their third Berlin exhibition, artist duo Jiří Franta and David Böhm are discussing an event that is currently a big topic in their home country, especially the official institutions, which include the network of the Czech Centers: the centenary of the independent anniversary The Czechoslovak state is also a source of reflection and analysis for artists, even if they refer to it in a different way, from a different angle and with their own particular resources. The specific historical experiences and developments were decisive for the fact that the Czech nation, unlike many of its neighbors, is composed of a more or less homogeneous mass – ethnically, socially and culturally. This creates an insecurity about everything that is different and alien, and a fear of an imaginary danger that lurks everywhere outside of our picturesque garden. Unfortunately, both become important maps in Czech politics, and within the framework of the European community they produce a certain disharmony and discord.
In their exhibition, Franta and Böhm examine and analyze concepts and phenomena such as statehood, national identity or the growing tendency towards nationalism, which at the moment can hardly be avoided, as well as feelings and frustrations caused by it. In doing so, they reveal their absurd, irrational, archaic and sometimes even inhuman layers with their typical associative and loosely ironic method. However, they also approach the motif of the “foreigner” from the opposite side, namely their own experiences gained while traveling abroad. Therefore, we meet the foreigner in the exhibition, but also become a foreigner again and again.
Since 2006 Jiří Franta (* 1978) and David Böhm (* 1982) have been working together as an artist duo and have already realized several exhibitions in the Czech Republic and abroad. Characteristic of her work is the search for new contexts and overlaps of meaning of the classical medium of drawing, the exploration of their physical boundaries or, for example, the reflection of a broad relationship between image and text structure. The list of their joint performances also includes performances, videos, installations, interventions in public space, murals and, not least, publications. With his spontaneity and heuristic attitude, the artist duo provokes the creativity and imagination of his audience, engaging them in a specific and engaging way. Most often, he succeeds with a relaxed, participatory approach, which is open to accumulations of free associations.
Pavel Švec (Curator)
Vernissage: Thursday, 12th July 2018, 7.00 pm – in the presence of the artists
Exhibition period: Friday, 13th Juli 2018 – Thursday, 20th September 2018
[maxbutton id=”200″]
Image caption: Courtesy of Tschechisches Zentrum Berlin – Jiří Franta + David Böhm
Exhibition Jiří Franta + David Böhm – Ausländer – Tschechisches Zentrum Berlin | Contemporary Art – Zeitgenössische Kunst in Berlin – ART at Berlin
