Roman Liška. Research in Motion

Roman Liška - `Research ´n´ Motion´ - DUVE Berlin / 14. September - October 26th 2013 Opening: Saturday, 14. September 2013 / 7 - 9 PM and afterparty at SHIFT from 9 PM

DUVE Berlin is pleased to present `RESEARCH ´N´ MOTION´, Roman Liška's first solo exhibition at the gallery; an ambitious effort to activate the artist's network in Berlin, conceived through the lens of an expanded notion of painting.

For the duration of the exhibition Liška invites several of his peers in both the fields of fine and applied arts to work within the space he has modified. The artist encourages collaboration and experimentation to manifest the experience of the city's unconventional approaches towards cultural production. Leading up to, during, and after the conclusion of the show, Liška incorporates projects that transform the gallery space into a networked organism - dynamically expanding, contracting and fluctuating between the formats of screenings, performances, lectures and talks in the fields of fine art, choreography, graphic design, couture, poetry and music. Hence the project articulates an integrated system that informs his own process of production. Liška takes the usually static gallery space and charges it with the potential for movement by placing rotatable walls throughout the gallery, allowing for the fixed rectangle to be transformed into a variety of spatial situations for presentation, performance and contemplation.

The decision to invite collaborators into his solo presentation is a natural extension of the artist's extensive curating practice developed over the past few years whilst living in London. This strategy exemplifies Liška's approach towards exploring a practice that embraces a multiplicity of influences, specifically in a context of the discourse around expanded painting. In this definition, the contemporary painter is the agent of an idea that is motivated by a process instead of a fixed result and no longer the sole author who merely applies paint to a canvas. Instead, the exhibition space acts as a surface for the application of what in this context are painterly materials. Consisting of social moments, modular structures, bodies in motion, and wall-based elements, the artist creates a dialectic between content and context. In this case, the term painting refers to his approach to using the broadest definition of materiality to form a composition in space and time -- be it  on a flat surface of a canvas or within a body with volume such as a gallery space.

Liška’s own pursuits are active inquiries into the transition from the loss of significance of materiality to a more applicable and relevant definition of the contemporary painter. In a literal sense, Liška is exposing and displaying a part of his artistic network through tangible examples and inferences by expanding the notion of what can be thought of as painting. While these actions are clearly framed in his own system using signature elements of his work, the viewer is prompted to decipher the connections between his work and the embedded efforts of those he has invited to help realize his vision.

A timetable for special events and more information on the participants will be posted on the gallery website at www.duveberlin.com as well as on www.facebook/DUVEBerlin

Roman Liška selected biography:

Born in Hamburg, Germany in 1980, based in London and Berlin.

education:

2012 - 2013 MA Painting, Royal College of Art (RCA) London, UK 2013 Hunter CUNY (RCA exchange program, January - March 2013) NYC, US 2008 - 2011 BA Art Practice, Goldsmiths University of London, UK 2008 - 2009 Hochschule für Bildende Künste (HFBK) Hamburg, GER

solo exhibitions/commissions:

2013

IMAA: Instruction Manual And Accessories (commision) espace d'art contemporain 14°N 61°W Fort de France, MQ (upcoming)

RESEARCH ´N´ MOTION DUVE Berlin Berlin, DE September 14th - October 26th 2013

BRACE, BRACE! IMO (solo) Copenhagen, DK May 8th - June 23rd 2013

GEMINI Brand New Gallery (solo) Milan, IT March 21st - May 11th 2013

2012

NU BALANCE (solo) Rod Barton, London, UK September 13th - October 20th 2013

UN BALANCE (commission) Clockwork Gallery, Berlin, Germany September - October 2012 2010

THE POST-CRITICAL PANTHER PARTY (solo) LimaZulu Project Space London, UK April 1st - April 8th 2010

Selected group exhibitions:

upcoming:

Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2013 Spike Island, Bristol & ICA London, UK 14 September 2013 – 10 November 2013/ 27 November 2013 – 26 January 2014

2013

ROPE BURN: Painting behind the Velveteen Curtain Maiken Bent, Alfred Boman, Alex Da Corte, Parker Ito, Roman Liška Rod Barton, London July - August 2013

6th Prague Biennale, Czech Republic (group exhibition) Expanded Painting, curated by Helena Kontova, Giancarlo Politi and Nicola Trezzi Joshua Abelow (US), Jumaldi Alfi (ID), Ali Banisadr (IR/US), Ashley Bickerton (US/ID), Agostino Bonalumi (IT), Mihuț Boșcu Kafchin (RO), Paula Brunner Abelow (CZ/US), Fendry Ekel (ID/NL), Gábor Gerhes (HU), Alberto Garutti (IT), Peter Halley (US), Helena Hladilová (CZ), John Henderson (US), H. H. Lim (MY/IT), Roman Liška (DE/UK), Florin Maxa (RO), Bruno Munari (IT), Jakub Nepraš (CZ), Joshua Neustein (US/IL), Angel Otero (PR/US), Luděk Rathouský (CZ), Seung-taek Lee (KR), Michael E. Smith (US), Shinique Smith (US), Entang Wiharso (ID/US). June 6th - September 15th 2013

SPACE WHOLE KARAOKE (group show) Ethan Cook, Ted Gahl, Parker Ito, Roman Liška, Larissa Lockshin, Israel Lund, Landon Metz, David Ostrowski, John Roebas, Travess Smalley, Kyle Thurman Middlemarch, Brussels, BE April 13th - May 25th 2013

2012

Dia:Macon I (group show) Theodora Allen, Hugh Elton, Timothy Hull, Roman Liška, Dave McDermott, Dave Miko, Rob, Nadeau, Jack Siegel, Josh Tonsfeldt, Alison Veit, organised by Todd Von Ammon Dia:Macon, BK, NY

NSFW (group show) Chris Succo, Dan Shaw-Town, Ed Fornieles, Nazafarin Lotfi, Roman Liška, Wyatt Kahn DUVE Berlin, Berlin, GER

PAINTING, IS A PAINTING, IS A PAINTING (group show) curated by Rod Barton Nicolas Deshayes, Roman Liška, Oliver Osborne, Oliver Perkins, Dan Rees, Hugh Scott-Douglas Cul De Sac Gallery, London, UK _

Selected press/publications

6th Prague Biennale Catalog (print) Commission: BRACE, BRACE! a short script for a play by Alex Ross - (print) Feature: Roman Liška: Gemini at Brand New Gallery, Milan - Mousse Blog (online) Feature: Roman Liška: Gemini at Brand New Gallery, Milan - ATPdiary blog (online) Feature: Roman Liška: Gemini at Brand New Gallery, Milan - cura. magazine blog (online) Review: NU BALANCE Roman Liška, by Dan Munn - Cmagazine #117 Spring 2013 (print) Review: NU BALANCE Roman Liška by Michael Archer - ArtForum (december 2012 issue (print) Commission: The Nowness of Now, essay by Nina Wakeford (print) Commission: These Are Not Coffee-Table Books, These Are Coffee Tables, essay by Ali Eisa (print) Essay: This is The End by Christopher Kulendran Thomas - Art Licks issue 8, 2012 (print). Review: NU BALANCE Roman Liška, by Gloriana Riggioni - thisistomorrow (online) Review: NU BALANCE Roman Liška, by Li Yin Soh - garagemag (online) Feature: Artist of the week by Susanna Davies-Crook - dazeddigital (online)

Roman Liška `RESEARCH N´ MOTION´- DUVE Berlin / 14. September - 26. Oktober 2013 Vernissage: Samstag, 14. September 2013 / 19 - 21 h und Afterparty im SHIFT ab 21 h

DUVE Berlin präsentiert mit der Ausstellung `RESEARCH N´ MOTION´ Roman Liška´s erste Einzelausstellung in der Galerie. Das Projekt unternimmt den Versuch das Umfeld des Künstlers aus dem Blickwinkel eines erweiterten Begriffs der Malerei zu aktivieren. Für die Dauer der Ausstellung lädt Liška eine diverse Auswahl von Kreativen aus sowohl den Bereichen der bildenden als auch den angewandten Künsten ein innerhalb des von ihm modifizierten Raumes zu experimentieren. Der Künstler initiiert Zusammenarbeit und Intervention um die unkonventionellen Ansätze kultureller Produktion in Berlin zu zelebrieren und aus diesem kollektiven Potenzial zu schöpfen. Im Vorfeld, während, und nach der Ausstellung verwandelt sich der Galerieraum in einen vernetzten Organismus der dynamisch zwischen den Formaten von Filmvorführungen, Performances, Vorträgen und Gesprächen in den Bereichen der Bildenden Künste, Choreographie, Grafik-Design, Mode, Poesie und Musik oszilliert. Liška artikuliert also ein integriertes System das seinem Produktionsprozess zu Grunde liegt. Er begreift den in der Regel statischen Galerieraum als dynamische Gestaltungsfläche und lädt ihn mit dem Potenzial spontaner Veränderung auf, indem er drehbare Wände in der Galerie installiert, so dass diese in eine Vielzahl von Situationen zur Präsentation, Performance und Reflektion umgewandelt werden kann. Die Entscheidung zahlreiche Mitwirkende in seine Einzelausstellung einzubeziehen ist eine natürliche Erweiterung der kuratorischen Praxis des Künstlers, die er in den letzten Jahren während seines Aufenthaltes in London entwickelt hat. Diese Herangehensweise verdeutlicht Liška´s Ansatz zur Erforschung eines Kunstbegriffes, der speziell im Kontext des Diskurses um Erweiterte Malerei (Expanded Painting) eine Vielzahl von Einflüssen aufgreift.  Laut dieses Konzeptes ist der zeitgenössische Maler lediglich der Vertreter einer Idee, die durch den Schaffensprozess selbst, anstelle eines zielgerichteten Hinarbeitens auf ein Ergebnis motiviert ist, und indem er nicht mehr der alleinige Autor ist. Der Ausstellungsraum fungiert vielmehr als Oberfläche für die Anwendung von allem, was in diesem Zusammenhang als Material sichtbar wird. So schafft der Künstler eine Dialektik zwischen Inhalt und Kontext bestehend aus sozialen Momenten, modularen Strukturen, Körpern in Bewegung und Wand-bas ierten Elementen. Der Begriff der Malerei bezieht sich also hier auf einen Ansatz zur Verwendung der weitesten Definition von Materialität, die eine Komposition in Raum und Zeit mit einschließt. Liška´s Anliegen ist eine aktive Befragung des Zustandes der Malerei heute. Diese ist getragen von der Hoffnung auf eine relevante und praktisch anwendbare Neudefinition der Malerei: Im wörtlichen Sinne legt Liška einen Teil seines künstlerischen Netzwerkes offen, anhand dessen er die Vorstellung von dem, was als Malerei gedacht werden kann, durch konkrete Beispiele und Interventionen zu erweitern sucht. Während diese eindeutig in seinem eigenen System eingebettet sind, wird der Betrachter gleichzeitig aufgefordert die Verbindungen zwischen seiner Arbeit und die derer, welche er zur Verwirklichung seiner Vision eingeladen hat, zu entschlüsseln. Ein Terminplan zu den einzelnen Sonderveranstaltungen sowie Informationen zu den Teilnehmenden wird auf der Website der Galerie veröffentlicht unter www.duveberlin.com und auf www.facebook/DUVEBerlin _

Roman Liška selected biography:

Born in Hamburg, Germany in 1980, based in London and Berlin.

education:

2012 - 2013 MA Painting, Royal College of Art (RCA) London, UK 2013 Hunter CUNY (RCA exchange program, January - March 2013) NYC, US 2008 - 2011 BA Art Practice, Goldsmiths University of London, UK 2008 - 2009 Hochschule für Bildende Künste (HFBK) Hamburg, GER

solo exhibitions/commissions:

2013

IMAA: Instruction Manual And Accessories (commision) espace d'art contemporain 14°N 61°W Fort de France, MQ (upcoming)

RESEARCH ´N´ MOTION DUVE Berlin (solo) Berlin, DE September 14th - October 26th 2013

BRACE, BRACE! IMO (solo) Copenhagen, DK May 8th - June 23rd 2013

GEMINI Brand New Gallery (solo) Milan, IT March 21st - May 11th 2013

2012

NU BALANCE (solo) Rod Barton, London, UK September 13th - October 20th 2013

UN BALANCE (commission) Clockwork Gallery, Berlin, Germany September - October 2012 2010

THE POST-CRITICAL PANTHER PARTY (solo) LimaZulu Project Space London, UK April 1st - April 8th 2010

Selected group exhibitions:

upcoming:

Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2013 Spike Island, Bristol & ICA London, UK 14 September 2013 – 10 November 2013/ 27 November 2013 – 26 January 2014

2013

ROPE BURN: Painting behind the Velveteen Curtain Maiken Bent, Alfred Boman, Alex Da Corte, Parker Ito, Roman Liška Rod Barton, London July - August 2013

6th Prague Biennale, Czech Republic (group exhibition) Expanded Painting, curated by Helena Kontova, Giancarlo Politi and Nicola Trezzi Joshua Abelow (US), Jumaldi Alfi (ID), Ali Banisadr (IR/US), Ashley Bickerton (US/ID), Agostino Bonalumi (IT), Mihuț Boșcu Kafchin (RO), Paula Brunner Abelow (CZ/US), Fendry Ekel (ID/NL), Gábor Gerhes (HU), Alberto Garutti (IT), Peter Halley (US), Helena Hladilová (CZ), John Henderson (US), H. H. Lim (MY/IT), Roman Liška (DE/UK), Florin Maxa (RO), Bruno Munari (IT), Jakub Nepraš (CZ), Joshua Neustein (US/IL), Angel Otero (PR/US), Luděk Rathouský (CZ), Seung-taek Lee (KR), Michael E. Smith (US), Shinique Smith (US), Entang Wiharso (ID/US). June 6th - September 15th 2013

SPACE WHOLE KARAOKE (group show) Ethan Cook, Ted Gahl, Parker Ito, Roman Liška, Larissa Lockshin, Israel Lund, Landon Metz, David Ostrowski, John Roebas, Travess Smalley, Kyle Thurman Middlemarch, Brussels, BE April 13th - May 25th 2013

2012

Dia:Macon I (group show) Theodora Allen, Hugh Elton, Timothy Hull, Roman Liška, Dave McDermott, Dave Miko, Rob Nadeau, Jack Siegel, Josh Tonsfeldt, Alison Veit, organised by Todd Von Ammon Dia:Macon, BK, NY

NSFW (group show) Chris Succo, Dan Shaw-Town, Ed Fornieles, Nazafarin Lotfi, Roman Liška, Wyatt Kahn DUVE Berlin, Berlin, DE

PAINTING, IS A PAINTING, IS A PAINTING (group show) curated by Rod Barton Nicolas Deshayes, Roman Liška, Oliver Osborne, Oliver Perkins, Dan Rees, Hugh Scott-Douglas Cul De Sac Gallery, London, UK _

Selected press/publications

6th Prague Biennale Catalog (print) Commission: BRACE, BRACE! a short script for a play by Alex Ross - (print) Feature: Roman Liška: Gemini at Brand New Gallery, Milan - Mousse Blog (online) Feature: Roman Liška: Gemini at Brand New Gallery, Milan - ATPdiary blog (online) Feature: Roman Liška: Gemini at Brand New Gallery, Milan - cura. magazine blog (online) Review: NU BALANCE Roman Liška, by Dan Munn - Cmagazine #117 Spring 2013 (print) Review: NU BALANCE Roman Liška by Michael Archer - ArtForum (december 2012 issue (print) Commission: The Nowness of Now, essay by Nina Wakeford (print) Commission: These Are Not Coffee-Table Books, These Are Coffee Tables, essay by Ali Eisa (print) Essay: This is The End by Christopher Kulendran Thomas - Art Licks issue 8, 2012 (print). Review: NU BALANCE Roman Liška, by Gloriana Riggioni - thisistomorrow (online) Review: NU BALANCE Roman Liška, by Li Yin Soh - garagemag (online) Feature: Artist of the week by Susanna Davies-Crook - dazeddigital (online)

Roman Liška
Research ´n´ Motion - DUVE Berlin

artists:
Roman Liska