Revolutionary Aesthetics
Canvases painted by bomb-defusing robots, a massive barricade sculpted in bronze or a water canon ballet – by combining classical media and militant context Spanish artist Fernando Sánchez Castillo creates beautifully contradictory works. There’s obviously nothing subtle about his oeuvre – as there’s no subtext to the exhibition they’re featured in. Because the group show »Die Revolution im Dienste der Poesie« at Senatsreservenspeicher riots against the Berlin Kunstherbst.
But the show does not content itself with aestheticizing power instruments and riot accessories. Castillo and his Spanish compatriots Democracia and Santiago Sierra present critical works that question the interdependence of power and aesthetics. From the graphics of grand provocateur Santiago Sierra to Democracia’s video of a nocturnal parkour session on a cemetery, everything is about clear statements and confronting the public. (The prints of Sierra’s war veterans are to be found at Schlesisches Tor and Oberbaumbrücke, too.) And there could not be a more suitable setting for this provocative show than the impressive concrete colossus Senatsreservenspeicher. The former food provision storage in Kreuzberg serves as an exhibition space of Artitude e.V. which for almost a decade has earned its name for its multidisciplinary approach and, more important, idiosyncratic way of connecting art establishment and subculture through concerts, workshops, parties and fantastic exhibitions.
Of course Artitude-director Lutz Henke and co-curator Ulf Saupe don’t content with a static exhibition. On display until the end of October the show will not only be complemented by numerous interventions and performances, but the participating artists will also realize new site-specific projects in Berlin. You’d better be vigilant.
»Die Revolution im Dienste der Poesie« is on view until October 3rd, 2011.
Credit: Fernando Sánchez Castillo, Stilleben, 2009, Lambda-Print 80x110
