Alexander Braun - written images

The exhibition in the Graphic Cabinet, which was specially conceived by the German artist Alexander Braun (who was born in 1966 in Dortmund), is devoted to shapes caught in the tension between plane and space. Even the title of the exhibition indicates that single works are the result of a deductive or analytical process that began with the ”Folienschleife” in 1993 and that successively evolved up to the environment ”Aus der Forschung”.

The main work ”Filzschleife” is a 7m long spiral of flesh-coloured felt that is filled with cotton wool. The form of its two coils echo that of the smaller ”Folienschleife” (”cellophane ribbon”) that is attached to the centre of the wall. At the same time, the felt ring that dominates the exhibition displays around 500 white letters that were sewn on by the artist and is a three-dimensional continuation of the ”Wortschleife” (”word ribbon”, 1995) which is mounted on the opposite wall. The sentence always spirals towards the middle and was only formed during the actual process of writing. Alongside the subject matter, the sense of movement that emanates from the ”Wortschleife” is of significance.

In the case of the tripartite works ”Synthes” (1995/96) and ”Anthropos” (1995/96) three views of each work are shown. The partially obscured word ”Synthes” can be discerned on the first canvas; canvas number three shows the rear of the work and the intermediate image that emerges as a result of the wish to ”take the object and turn it” is the subject of the middle canvas.

Pictorial imagination in series, as well as the presentation of a series of derivations, form the central themes of this complex environment. Taking an arbitrary basic situation as his point of departure, Alexander Braun evolves one form from the other on the basis of strict precepts. He changes their scale, mirrors their subsequent results and hence affords them a new material existence.

Alexander Braun
written images