CARAVAN 3/2010: Esther Kempf

Media Release
Aarau in July, 2010
CARAVAN 3/2010: Esther Kempf
Series of Exhibitions of Young Art
21 August − 7 November, 2010
Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau
In the latest CARAVAN exhibition at the Aargauer Kunsthaus young
Zurich artist Esther Kempf surprises viewers with new work created
specifically for the Aargauer Kunsthaus.
Zurich artist Esther Kempf is the subject of the latest CARAVAN exhibition
at the Aargauer Kunsthaus. A sharp observer of the everyday and the
obsolete, Kempf cultivates an ironic and playful take on ordinary objects
such as milk cartons, adhesive tape, pieces of furniture, matches or indoor
palm trees which serve as her artistic material. By cleverly arranging
them, these objects acquire a new identity, as, for instance, in the case
of a ruler, a paper roll, a pen and wallpaper scraps hanging down in a
corner of a gallery, which with a shift in the viewer’s standpoint suddenly
form a table that seems to protrude into the space.
Many of Esther Kempf’s installation pieces reveal themselves to the viewer
only as he or she moves through space. Similarly, her objects, photographs
and video pieces require the viewer to do a double take, for her works
reside at the intersection between illusion and reality. As distinct from
classic trompe l'oeil, where the creative process giving rise to the image
is concealed in order to create the most perfect illusion possible, Esther
Kempf, through her choice of materials and their arrangement, actually
emphasises the way in which the illusion is created.
Reflecting on the architectural and atmospheric features of an exhibition
venue is of central importance to the artist who usually comes up with
ideas for her artworks on site. Accordingly, Esther Kempf plans to surprise
visitors to the Aargauer Kunsthaus with a new work created specifically for
the CARAVAN exhibition series.
Esther Kempf (b. 1980), born in Cameroon and raised in Zurich, lives and
works in Zurich. Studied visual arts at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in
Amsterdam from 2001 until 2005.
Selected exhibitions to date: August in Art Biannial, Varna (2010); C'est
quoi, ton prénom?, Institut für Moderne Kunst, Nürnberg (2010); OGSM,
Whitespace Gallery, Bangkok (2010); exhibition of fellowship holders, Binz
39,
Zurich
(2010);
Als
ob,
Kunstraum
Walcheturm,
Zurich
(2009) Offset,
Galerie Brigitte Weiss, Zurich (2009); Unter 30 VI, Kunsthaus Langenthal,
Langenthal
(2008);
Swiss
Art
Awards,
Kiefer
Hablitzel
Wettbewerb,
Messezentrum, Basel (2008); Stipendienwettbewerb der Stadt Zürich 2007
Helmhaus, Zurich (2007); Gleis 2, Künstlerinitiative 1646, The Hague
(2006); Second Floor, Galerie Moira, Utrecht (2006).
Selected awards: Award of the Dr. Georg and Josi Guggenheim Foundation
(2008); Kiefer Hablitzel Award (2008).
Selected publications: Esther Kempf - Alles, was man sehen oder anfassen
kann, ist ein Nomen und wird gross geschrieben, Edition Periferia (2010)
CARAVAN – Launched in 2008, this series of exhibitions of young art offers
visitors to the Aargauer Kunsthaus a chance to encounter young Swiss
artists and to discover novel and as yet unestablished artistic practices.
Its name, CARAVAN, is programmatic; several times a year, artists are given
different galleries of the Aargauer Kunsthaus to work with. These "mobile
interventions" engage in a discourse with the building, the collection and
the programme of the Kunsthaus, opening up new ways of seeing for the
visiting public. In this way, rather than creating a self-contained project
space for recent art, the exhibition series promotes a link-up of recent
artistic practices with everything else the Kunsthaus has to offer. Each
time, CARAVAN will thus stop at varying and perhaps surprising locations in
the Aargauer Kunsthaus.
Curator
Katrin Weilenmann
Preview for the Media
Thursday, 19 August 2010, 10 am, Aargauer Kunsthaus Aarau
The artist will be present.
Exhibition opening
Friday, 20 August 2010
7 pm, tent at Rathausgarten
Speakers:
Josef Meier, President, Aargauischer Kunstverein
Madeleine Schuppli, Director, Aargauer Kunsthaus
Alex Hürzeler, Councillor, Canton of Aargau
7.30 pm Doors to the exhibitions open and reception in the Kunsthaus foyer
9.30 pm Concert by Kummerbuben
11.00 pm Music with B-Ekspress Late Night
Concerts in cooperation with KiFF, Aarau
Kicking off the Kunsthaus Fest
The exhibition opening marks the beginning of the grand Kunsthaus Fest
which runs from Friday night until Sunday night, 20. − 22. August, to
celebrate this year’s anniversary. For additional information please see
separate programme or visit our website at www.aargauerkunsthaus.ch
Artist’s talk
Thursday, 28 October 2010, 6.30 pm
Esther Kempf in conversation with Dorothea Strauss, director of Haus
Konstruktiv in Zurich, and Katrin Weilenmann, Research Assistant and
curator of the exhibition, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau
Images for the Media
Images are available for downloading on our website
www.aargauerkunsthaus.ch under "Media." Please take note of the captions.
Opening Hours: Tuesday – Sunday 10 am – 5 pm, Thursday 10 am – 8 pm
For additional information please contact:
Katrin Weilenmann, Research Assistant, tel. +41 (0)62 835 49 72,
email: [email protected]
Filomena Colecchia, communications, Tel. +41 (0)62 835 23 34,
email: [email protected]