Laps

Exhibition

 

Quantum Oddity Gallery - Berlin - Opening: 29.03.23  Exhibition Period: 30.03– 02.06

 

Aline Schwibbe, Josha Lohrengel, René Wagner

 

The exhibition Laps at Quantum Oddity Gallery presents works by Aline Schwibbe, Josha Lohrengel and René Wagner that explore a number of concepts such as identity, memory and association as well as materiality. Through the juxtaposition of the artist’s individual focuses and approaches, new meanings may be garnered and grey areas explored. 

Both loud and intimate, shiny and raw, boisterous and tender, humorous and sincere, the exhibition allows for a nuanced reflection on its themes. 

 

Much of the inspiration for the loud colours and dynamic patterns of Rene Wagner’s works comes from tuning culture - the practice of modifying a car to reflect one’s personality or to project a characterization of oneself to the world. While the cars are often tuned to adhere to a certain idea of masculinity that looks to be loud, bold and fast, Wagner is able to draw out the more sensitive and even fragile aspects of this practice. Wagner’s porcelain car rims, for example, display an apparent strength in design with an inherent fragility in its materials. Furthermore, Wagner brands his objects with his own name, reminiscent of the branding on race cars or motorbikes and hereby alludes to the branding on luxury items. 

 

Josha Lohrengel is interested in branding as a form of fetishised consumerism while also presenting it as a way of forming a personal identity. By wearing a certain brand or driving a certain car we try to foster a sense of belonging. In the humorous paintings on canvas that show cars leering to the side, we may ask ourselves how much jealousy or our comparing ourselves to others comes into play in forming our own identity. Lohrengel’s performance piece, shown as a video, portrays a red Ferrari in a violent display of power as it rushes over the white t-shirts lying helplessly on the floor. Yet there is also humour in this work - the luxury car on the screen appears like a toy car in a seemingly pointless child’s game of destroying the plain garments. The horses moulded from clay, to resemble the Ferrari logo, appear rather amused by this scene, carrying a broad smile in place of the horse’s head.

 

The darker and more ominous works by Aline Schwibbe allow for a more subtle exploration of the subject of self. Scenes from inside a car, specifically the passenger’s view through the window, are printed on velvet. Aline layers these film-stills with quasi-abstract drawings. The view from the car elicits a feeling of nostalgia, reminding the viewer of hours spent sitting in the back seat as a child. Scenes pass by and yet time seems to stand still. Who are we in this moment of intimate self-reflection? 

Aline prints film-stills onto plush velvet imposing a tactile element to a medium which would typically be on paper or canvas. The drawings in oil pastels and pastel crayons layered on the printed scenes add an extra layer of texture and meaning to the works. The scenes from the car window are modified by the drawings in a way that suggests an extension of the narrative or a reworking of memory.

 

Both Lohrengel and Wagner similarly utilise a variety of media in novel and unexpected ways. Wagner moulds sheet metal to mimic stretched canvas while also allowing the medium to rebel and refuse to be moulded into perfect rectangles. His sculptures that mimic motorbike helmets are made from poured concrete rendering them inevitably bound to the ground by gravity rather than aerodynamic and protective. Lohrengel uses acrylic paint and the high-sheen varnish used for cars to create works on canvas. Furthermore, his practice extends to media such as hand-tufted carpet and printed fabric. 

 

Thus, while new luxury car owners drive laps around the iconic Kudamm outside the gallery, Aline’s works present an endless loop through the scenes of a car ride, Lohrengel’s Ferrari goes round and round over the once white t-shirts and Wagner’s dynamic sculptures are ready to take off and do it all again.

 

 

Text: Isabelle Thul