Henrik Olesen

Neven-DuMont-Straße 17, Köln

Henrik Olesen

22.05.2020 - 15.08.2020

HenrikOlesen *1967, lives in Berlin.In his workHenrik Olesenaddresses questions about identity, language, the body and their construction to describe relations of power and social norms.

The new works by Henrik Olesen take as their starting point the meeting of repetition, consumption, and signs.

The exhibition brings together 3 images (signs) and their references:
1.the organ (intestines/stomach):digestion, waste, excretion, shit!
2.the plug:Kreislauf, Kabelsalat, sex!3.the keyboard:fingertips, work, waste, pollution!

Theorgan paintingscame into existence within the last year, in a daily process of repetitively reworking with layers of paint and materials applying layers, scratching off. attaching anew.

The organ paintings were inspired by:
Jean Fautrier: L'Homme ouvert (L’Autopsie) 1928
a painting about which it is said that:it is an anatomy lesson of painting itself, whether it is an explosion of signs or conducting the plasticity of the material, here the paths of Fautrier and Georges Bataille crossed.

Henrik Olesen'srecent solo exhibitions include shows at Reina Sofia, Madrid (2019), Wattis Institute (2017), Museum Ludwig/Wolfgang-Hahn-Price, Cologne (2012), MoMA –Projects 94, New York (2011). Recent group exhibitions include: Bienal de Sao Paulo (2018, 2017),Slip of the Tongue, Punta della Dogana in Venice (2015), Venice Biennale (2013), New Museum, New York (2012), Generali Foundation, Vienna (2012) and Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich (2012).