Nice text and review by Emil Memon on COME CLOSER2 at Nässjö Konsthall, Sweden
JÅRG GEISMAR / COME CLOSER 2
Recently had a conversation with my friend and colleague Jårg Geismar,
touching base on our lives , what we are working on and stuff in general. This
was just after I spent a week of more than usual Art consumption in NYC during
Armory Week. He presented me with “Come Closer 2” his latest Art exposition in
Nässjö Kunsthall, Sweden. Looking at the works, it brought back memories of our
New York Art collaborations as fellow artists and curators. It also struck me how
relevant and timely his work is for our times, specially after seeing
incredible amount of Art; Art Fares as aggregators of Art, something parallel
to social media concentration of
information, incomprehensive as well comprehensive compressed overload,
where money is the driving force trough which order is enforced on creativity.
You know is wrong in indulging in that spectacle but you can't help it. After
this suddenly Jårg offering me his images and guiding me trough his thought process
worked like some sort of a medicine , it was a perfect counterpoint to what is
Art Market’s Imperial stand in the world’s capital of commerce.
This is Jårg at his best, it brought me back to “Sites of Intolerance “
a PS1 , New York, 1992 Art show where he participated with his installation
work. Thematically this two exhibitions have a similar political premises
dealing with intolerance and tolerance. They also share his mastery of the
space with poetic light touches (trademark of Jårg’s work) with affinity to
ethos of Arte Povera objects and materials like red roses, plastic red
airplanes, cellophane, glass, aluminum ,light of film projections, …, there’s a
musicality to it all achieved with color and rhythm of placed items in space.
He has a good sense of Architecture of the space that informs him how to create
so it becomes a conveyer, communication tool for his idea as good Conceptual
Art ,from where his work derives from, does. In “Come Closer 2” materials he is
using , cellophane, aluminum ,glass and drawings and words written in a manner
that his physical presence is felt in the space, 5 red squares on glass walls
of the museum that interact with the outside landscape, projections of film
images from the cities that are part of Jårg’s life,
the personal, public, nature , universal …merges and communicates with
each other and charges itself with the meaning in a manner not dissimilar to
Joseph Beuys’s work. The fact that Jårg is alumni of Düsseldorf ‘s Academy of
The Art is felt in the DNA of this exhibition. There’s also time based element
in this, the light as another ingredient of this clear minded
alchemy, it is a present medium in a square of the film projection and
it is flooding the room trough large glass walls interacting beautifully with
the translucent red color of red squares bringing in the rhythm of nature,
changing light of the day turning into night and Winter turning into Spring. It
is very poetic and elegant if I can use this therm. So are glass panels placed
over aluminum on the gallery floor like some sort of energy generating machines
. Standing on the glass evokes nature outside the gallery walls, ice on a
frozen lake in a cold Swedish winter.
Large drawing on cellophane sheets facing the red rectangular on glass
wall and the outside changing landscape has a monumental quality to it. It is a
code to be deciphered, like a page from Leonardo’s codex , with drawing of
objects and words in reverse, introducing language and with it mental
gymnastics viewer must involve herself or himself.
Thinking is the key to it all in this show, as we are surrounded by eazy
stimuli of our Hyper- Capitalism merged with new technologies that are erasing
private space , mind space, space of thinking , space where critical thought
can be formed ,aggressively turning us in data commodity to be sold this Jårg’s
work is precious and valuable. Time passed between his PS1 show, unthinkable
changes happened since then, in that show there's a sense of times to come, now
we are in the middle of it, where are we as societies going is now
questionable.
What Geismar provides us with this exhibition is the space where we can
stop, restore our self and face what is in front of us with a critical eye and
stand that can change things and that what good Art does.
Emil Memon NYC,
March 26, 2018
 |
| "THE RED LINE" Book 2013 |
THE RED LINE
Hatje Cantz Publisher
Texts by Noemi Smolik and Kenny
Schachter
German/English/French
304
pages., 329 pictures,
21,7 x 28 cm, Linen embossed hard cover
€
45,–
ISBN
978-3-7757-3633-6
May
2013
Jårg Geismar’s art is often unwieldy and generally difficult to categorize. He creates objects and images, as well as ephemeral installations and temporary interventions, which cannot be pigeonholed and are not made first and foremost for the market – the opposite of much of which characterizes the highly commodified, global contemporary art world on the threshold of the new millennium. His art transcends the normal ambitions and aspirations of many a contemporary artist, and his highly individual position occupies a very personal space, while at the same time addressing issues with a universal message. Kenny Schachter and Noemi Smolik delve into Geismar’s fascinating world of art and socio-cultural interaction from two highly divergent starting points and open new perspectives and ways of seeing.
Since
the 1980s, the Swedish-born, German artist – a veritable globetrotter, who has
lived for extended periods in both Japan and the United States – has been
silently creating various trends within the contemporary art scenes at home and
abroad. Transparency and ambiguity, tension and balance, lights and projectors,
photographs and videos, drawings on carbon paper and cellophane, as well as
actions and interventions involving cuisine and fashion, have all become
trademarks of sorts. "THE RED LINE" reveals how Jårg Geismar
transforms his inspiration taken from daily life and journeys into local neighborhoods
around the world into his own unique and thought-provoking art. Geismar takes
the viewer on a virtual journey into the self and helps to decode the often convoluted world that surrounds us.
You can purchase at Hatje Cantz, amazon or with Jårg Geismar.
You can purchase at Hatje Cantz, amazon or with Jårg Geismar.
Hidden Agenda, Solo Project
View from street level into the exhibition space,
first room with "something might happen" 2016
(garbage cans, clothes line, lacquer, hooks)
Opening hours - Tuesday - Sun 12 -7pm
Tel - +49 (0)221 1699 3647
Projectroom Ruttkowski68, Gallery, Cologne, Bismarkstr 68
CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
2018
"discrete", Olseröd Konsthallen, Degeberga, Sweden
"FLY ME TO THE MOON" Ruttkowski68, Cologne, Germany
"COME CLOSER 2" Nässjö Kunsthall, Nässjö, Sweden
"fairytales" Gallery Ravne, Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia
2017
"I read I write" Vamlingbo Bolaget, Gotland, Sweden
"#infiniteflowers"I-III , PLUS ONE Gallery Antwerpen
Belgium
"Mixed Pickles" Ruttkowski68, Cologne, Germany
2016
"AKKU1" Sitespecific installation, Düsseldorf
2015
2014
2012
2011
2009
2008
2007
"Phantasy", 2007 TZR Gallery Kai Brueckner, Duesseldorf/Germany
"Private Viewer", 2007 Gallery GEN, Tokyo/Japan
"Private Viewer", 2007 Gallery GEN, Tokyo/Japan
2006
2005
"by feet", 2005/06 , 7hours/Haus 19, Berlin/Germany
2004
"daydreaming" 2004 Jiri Svestka Gallery, Prague/Czech Republic
2004
"daydreaming" 2004 Jiri Svestka Gallery, Prague/Czech Republic
1999
" Future in Mind" 1999 The National Gallery Bangkok/Thailand"living, loving and doing" 1999 Konstcentrum Gaevle/Sweden and , the Zambia National Visual Arts Council, Lusaka and the Mbala Art Center 2000/both Zambia
"Die banale Intellektualitaet " 1999, Paleis Thurn und Taxis, Bregenz/Austria
1998
"LOW BUDGET" 1998, Konsthallen Göteborg, Sweden
"SPIRIT 104" 1998, Hallwylska Museum, ARKIPELAG, Stockholm Cultural Capital of Europe/Sweden
"You come and you go" as part of "MEDIALIZATION" in Sweden and Estonia curated by Joseph Backstein
1997
"WOMEN, MEN, CHILDREN AND DOGS" 1997 IASPIS and Fylkingen, Stockholm/Sweden
"LOW BUDGET" 1997 Kunsthalle zu Kiel/Germany
1996
"IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH JEANNINE" Bejinhof Hasselt, Belgium
"Die verlorene Idee von der Ordnung der Dinge", Atatürk Cultural Center, Istanbul, Turkey and Kunstpalast Dusseldorf, Germany
1995
"Im Westen Nichts Neues" 1995 Staedtische Ausstellungshalle Am Hawerkamp, Muenster/Germany
1994
"PUBLIC COPYRIGHT" 1994 Kunstverein fuer die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Duesseldorf/Germany
"MEN" 1994 Natalie Rivera, New York/USA
"If you can't come in smile as you go by" Thomas Taubert, Düsseldorf/Germany
1993
"INBETWEEN" 1993 together with Adem Yilmaz LXV Biennial Venice, Italy
"My home is your home" Construction in Process, Lodz, Poland 1993
1992
"Joint Venture" 1992 PS1, The Contemporary Art Instut New York/USA
"Unlimited" 1992 Limited Littman Gallery, Basel/Switzerland
"CABLES" 1992 Gallery Gabriele Rivet, Cologne
1991
"WOMEN" 1991 Natalie Rivera, New York/USA
"Money money come to me" 1991 Avtosavodskaja Saal, Moscow/Russia
" VESPA" 1991 Espai 13, Joan Miro Fundacion Barcelona/Spain
"Femme Fatale" 1991 NEXT TO PUBLIC, Basel/ Switzerland
"Clothes Make People", 1991 Sagacho Exhibit Space, Tokyo/Japan
"Food and People" 1990 Le Magasin, Grenoble/France
1990
"Midnight-Express" 1990 Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf
"PHILIPS" 1990 De Fabriek, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
"Diamonds" 1990 Sandra Gering Gallery, New York/USA
"Decorative Things"1990 Offermann Gallery, Cologne/Germany
1989
"Rosemary" 1989 Offermann Gallery, Cologne/Germany
"Future is based on Trust" Littmann Gallery, Basel/Switzerland
"Red" 1989 Stückfärberei Basel/Switzerland
"NY-Istanbul" 1989 Hannover subway stations, Hannover/Germany
"New York Art Made in Japan" 1989 Shingu/Japan
1988
"New York Art Made in Japan" 1988 Yamazaki/Japan
1987
"Action/Geismar-Action/Rees" 1987 Canalstreet, New York/USA
"NY/RAW/ROH" 1987 Thomas Krings-Ernst Gallery, Cologne/Germany
1986
"Standort Düsseldorf 1986" Kunsthalle Düsseldorf /Germany
"unausgewogen" 1986 Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne/Germany
"CITY" 020, 1986 Kunstakademie Düsseldorf/Germany
1984
"OPAT" Paleis, Arnhem, The Netherlands 1984
"Den Bosch" ARTIS, s'Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands 1984
"kyo" Stollwerk, Cologne, Germany 1984
"Projektionen" 1984 Künstlerhaus Hamburg/Germany
1980-84
Room 228 , Kunstakademie Düsseldorf/Germany
"Restaurant Mes Amis"
are interactive installations, performances for five and more senses with food, drinks, clothe line, audio, films and mixed media in museums, galleries and other locations by Jårg Geismar and invited guests. Started in 1988 in Japan. There have been more then 26 projects until today in Asia, USA and Europe.
A.T.W. - Around the World - interactive forum for different and overlapping media since 1986. Partipiciants from various professions and media, simultaneous exhibitions, projects and publications on different continents. Acting offices in Düsseldorf, New York and Tokyo since 1985. Today in Düsseldorf.
A.T.W. PAST PRESENT FUTURE a retrospective worldwide exhibition and presentation.
PS.1 Museum, New York, USA 1991
CURATED BY JÅRG GEISMAR
2010 " CAR CITY" with 7 Belgium artists at MDA, Genk Belgium
2002 "ONE TO SEVEN", with 7 international artists at Gallery Rivet, Cologne, Germany
2000 "ART IS A VISIT" with in 8 international artists at AIAV Gallery, Akiyoshiday, Japan
1999 "FUTURE LAB" with 40 art students from 5 universities in Bangkok at The National Gallery Bangkok, Thailand
1998 "NUMEA" with 10 art students at different locations on site in the City and at the airport of Umea, Sweden
1995 "MISSION DIMENSION" with international artists at Hotel MODERN, Düsseldorf, Germany
1993 "HOTEL 48STD" Hotel Modern, curated together with Steven Pollack, Düsseldorf, Germany
1991 "Hotel 48H" OFF SOHO SUITES, curated together with Steven Pollack, New York, USA
2002 "ONE TO SEVEN", with 7 international artists at Gallery Rivet, Cologne, Germany
2000 "ART IS A VISIT" with in 8 international artists at AIAV Gallery, Akiyoshiday, Japan
1999 "FUTURE LAB" with 40 art students from 5 universities in Bangkok at The National Gallery Bangkok, Thailand
1998 "NUMEA" with 10 art students at different locations on site in the City and at the airport of Umea, Sweden
1995 "MISSION DIMENSION" with international artists at Hotel MODERN, Düsseldorf, Germany
1993 "HOTEL 48STD" Hotel Modern, curated together with Steven Pollack, Düsseldorf, Germany
1991 "Hotel 48H" OFF SOHO SUITES, curated together with Steven Pollack, New York, USA
INTERVIEWS
Interview with Jårg Geismar - "In Düsseldorf ist alles ein bisschen zu brav" by Dr. Bertram Müller
in occasion of the exhibition "Piccolo Cinema" curated by Martin Leyer-Pritzkow. Rheinische Post, Düsseldof, February 19, 2015
Interview with Jårg Geismar – “Feeling my own blood" by Maria Nitulescu on the occasion of the solo exhibition at Jiri Svestka Gallery Berlin May 2 - June 14, 2014 - Positive Magazine Berlin 2014
Review "The red line inbetween art and life" on the exhibition "Delights" at Galerie Fagerstedt in Cora, Stockholm 2015 by Cristina Karlstam. in Swedish
almost all about geismar english M.14.05 from jarg geismar on Vimeo.
"daydreaming", 2004 interview, performance and film with Jårg Geismar and Jiri Svestka at Jiri Svestka Gallery Prague by Daniel Hirschler, Cologne
"It's a wonderfull World" 1998 interview with Jårg Geismar by Daniel Birnbaum at artnode hosted by Mats Broden, Stockholm, Sweden
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