Painting in the air
Air, nutrient solution and a carrier – to Julian Charrière and Andreas Greiner creating abstract paintings works as easy as that. For their current show »Dominions« at Program, the artists have bred microbes by exposing vitrines filled with nutrient solution to the air. The randomly caught aerob germs formed variegated colonies, whose appearances range from fluffy pastel sprinkles to iridescent edgy structures. 
Although fascinating by themselves, it’s not so much the microbe paintings the artists focus on, but rather the paradox their cultivated structures stand for: The colonies have been systematically collected at chosen sites in Germany and Switzerland. They’re displayed in vitrines, which in position and height correspond to the respective sources of the cultures. But the artists couldn’t tell beforehand which aerobe germs they would catch – thus, what form would develop in the respective vitrines. This microbial-scale topography is typical for the work of Charrière and Greiner. Students at Olafur Eliasson’s notorious Institute for Spatial Experiments, they are fascinated by creating art through organisms – whether they grow a bacterial Mondrian, do kinetic experiments with bioluminescent algae or transcend spatial dimensions as in their latest commissioned installation.
»Dominions« was produced for Program, a non-commercial discursive platform for all sorts of art and architecture collaborations. Initiated in 2006 by architecture writer und curator Carson Chan and architect and researcher Fotini Lazaridou-Hatzigoga it addresses artists, curators, architects and critics who want to push the boundaries of architectural theory and praxis. Besides offering residencies, workshops, concerts or screenings (to name but a few activities) Program features extraordinary exhibitions, which would be way too elaborate for an ordinary gallery. So is »Dominions«, as it challenges one’s conception of the territorial – in a topological, an ideological and an artistic way.
On view at Program until October 14th, 2011
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