ART-PRESENTATION: Stefan Brüggemann

Stefan Brüggemann’s work is rooted in Post-Conceptual practices that combine media independence, characteristic of the art of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, with market-oriented formalities and a bitter response towards the categorization of aesthetic values. Embedded in the application of philosophical concepts (mainly grounded on Post-Structuralism and Deconstructionism), his work acknowledges a range of concerns that emphasize the role of ideas and meaning through text and visual array.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Hauser & Wirth Archive

For his first exhibition with Hauser & Wirth, Stefan Brüggemann filled the gallery’s East 69th Street space, with site-specific extensions of two of his best known, ongoing series “Headlines and Last Line in the Movies” and “Timeless”. On the gallery’s ground floor, Brüggemann installed ‘”Headlines and Last Line in the Movies (Wall)” (2016), a new work for his signature series “Headlines and Last Line in the Movies”, initiated in 2009. The installation will consist of the final lines of dialogue from classic films such  as “Citizen Kane” (1941), spray painted directly onto the walls of the gallery and overlaid with headlines drawn from news stories published by major media outlets during the week in which the work is made. Brüggemann complements the work with a similar installation on the third floor of the Gallery, where texts painted onto marble panels, a material used for the first time by the artist. Brüggemann’s intention with this series, is to juxtapose reality and fiction in a way that throws myths into high relief. In the era of instantaneous global communication and citizen journalism, the products of the news media and the movie industry are parallels and fraternal twins that reflect our culture’s desires while manipulating and distorting our comprehension of society. On the gallery’s second floor, visitors is installed “Timeless (69th Street, NYC)” (2016), the latest addition to another ongoing conceptual series by Brüggemann. “Time Paintings” feature a grid of individual mirrors appliquéd with black and white vinyl texts and original text by the artist, that appears in black letters in the Arial font, while appropriated text appears handwritten, swathed with aluminum paint. The installation is Brüggemann’s anxious articulation of a contemporary society in which time has accelerated to the point at which it is no longer perceived as linear, and dissolves into abstraction.

Info: Hauser & Wirth New York, 32 East 69th Street, New York, Duration: 29/6-29/7/16, Days & Hours: Mon-Fri 10:00-18:00, www.hauserwirth.com