Sprüth Magers

Dreaming Mirrors Dreaming Screens

29 Jan - 02 Apr 2016

Stan VanDerBeek
Poemfield No. 1, 1967
Film still
16mm film transferred to HD video, color, silent
5:00 min
Copyright Estate of Stan VanDerBeek
Courtesy Estate of Stan VanDerBeek and Sprüth Magers
DREAMING MIRRORS DREAMING SCREENS
Curated by Johannes Fricke Waldthausen / Goodroom
29/01/2016 - 02/04/2016
Theodora Allen, Slater Bradley, Lucy Dodd, Lizzie Fitch / Ryan Trecartin, Andy Hope 1930,
Oliver Laric, Jon Rafman, Pamela Rosenkranz, Lesley Vance, Sara VanDerBeek,
Stan VanDerBeek, Andro Wekua
Bringing together the practice of thirteen international artists, the exhibition Dreaming Mirrors
Dreaming Screens appeals to the intuitive mind and creativity beyond referential thinking. Departing
from the artists ́ production, it navigates through narratives in the realm of surrealist
animation, abstraction and subjects of 'New Materialism' embracing the logic of the internet.
The concept of the show develops around notions of the screen as an interface for both the conscious
and the subconscious mind, as well as a surface for projections of communication and technological
abstraction. The exhibition aims to synchronize the intuitive mind with screens as doorways to lucid
states of both the rational and the dream-like. As Jean Baudrillard claims, "we used to live in the
imaginary world of the mirror and the stage. Today, we live in the imaginary world of the screen, the
interface and networks. We too have become screens." This entails states of increasing polarities.
Exploring perceptions of the 'Self' defined through screens – as entry gates and liminal, transitional
spaces of contemplation – the artists and the artwork speak via codes, signs and symbols, the
magical and transcendental, secrets, hidden information and 'behind the scenes' moments.
What happens to our sense of belonging, our social relationships and the 'Self', when the intuitive
mind becomes increasingly transformed by technology and removed from natural experiences and the
body? How do screens feel?
Text by Johannes Fricke Waldthausen
"The story of evolution unfolds with increasing levels of abstraction."
Raymond Kurzweil: How to Create a Mind (2012)
"Is this the place, they make you real?"
Quote from: A-I (2001), directed by Steven Spielberg
"The mind was dreaming. The world was its dream."
Jorge Luis Borges: The Infinite Library, Labyrinth (1941)
"Truth is a kind of absolute reality, if you can say so: surreality."
André Breton: Manifesto of Surrealism (1924)
 

Tags: Theodora Allen, Slater Bradley, André Breton, Lizzie Fitch, Andy Hope 1930, Oliver Laric, Jon Rafman, Pamela Rosenkranz, Lizzie Fitch/ Ryan Trecartin, Ryan Trecartin, Lesley Vance, Stan Vanderbeek, Sara VanDerBeek, Andro Wekua