On Sunday November 1, the final day of the exhibition Anne de Vries – E _ M E R G E, a lunch-session around the central theme of the development and relation of photography into visual arts is organized. The exhibition by De Vries is based on his interpretation of the influence of technology on our perception and experience of the world. Within this framework Clemens Jahn, author of the article ‘Photography after Photography after Photography, delivers a lecture. Accordingly artists Anne de Vries and his contemporary Timur Si-Qin present their work, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Judith Vrancken.
In his lecture, Clemens Jahn elucidates his in the acknowledged art magazine Texte Zur Kunst published article ‘Photography after Photography after Photography’. “As photography has left the frame, permeating all that we do, its institutionalization has become all but impossible”– states Jahn in his critical reflection on the position of photography and image manipulation within visual arts. Photography is no longer a means for representation, but more than anything else an instrument. Anne de Vries and Timur Si-Qin belong to the generation of artists who are extending the boundaries of photography in both form and content. How Anne de Vries and Timur Si-Qin relate to photography and visual arts in our contemporary digital era is discussed during the panel discussion. Of course there is opportunity for the audience to ask questions.
E _ M E R G E is the first major solo exhibition of the Berlin-based visual artist Anne de Vries. De Vries grew up in a time in which photography, Photoshop and mobile upload feeds came to seem entirely natural. His practice of photography is strongly influenced by his interest in the contemporary image culture. By combining everyday, common objects with new material, technologies and printing techniques, De Vries presents his reflection on the appeal of progress, the position of the individual among the masses and the role of imaging in an increasingly globalised economy.
NEXT LEVEL
From 2015 Foam is organising the Next Level exhibition series with support from Ammodo. This series aims to introduce a broad public to the innovative art of relatively young image-makers who take a revolutionary approach to the medium of photography. Anne de Vries’s new work is supported by the Mondriaan Fund.
ABOUT ANNE DE VRIES
De Vries (The Hague, 1977) has participated in numerous international group exhibitions in amongst others Museum De Hallen, Haarlem; Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis; The Moving Museum, Istanbul; Cell Projects, London, and Foam, Amsterdam. His work is included in several private and corporate collections and the collections of Rhizome, New York; Museum Winterthur, and Foam, Amsterdam. De Vries was a resident at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam from 2011-2012. He studied at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, and at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York. Anne de Vries is represented by Galerie Martin van Zomeren in Amsterdam.
ABOUT TIMUR SI-QIN
Timur Si-Qin (Berlin, 1984) lives and works in Berlin and is a leading figure in a new generation of artists associated with the contemporary philosophical movements of ‘New Materialism’ and ‘Speculative Realism’. He grew up in Berlin, Beijing and in a native Indian community in the American Southwest. Si-Qin’s work has been shown internationally at Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn; CCS Bard, New York; Museum Fridericianum, Kassel and at the Taipei Biennial. Last year he participated in the Art Post-Internet group exhibition at the UCCA, Beijing. Timur Si-Qin completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Universiry of Arizona, Tuscon. He is represented by Société in Berlin, and by Magician Space in Beijing.
ABOUT CLEMENS JAHN
Clemens Jahn (Munich, 1986) is a Berlin-based designer, editor and cultural producer. He studied visual communications at Universität der Künste (UdK) Berlin, and London College of Communications with a focus on multimedia graphic design and visual systems. He has worked with a range of international institutions, such as the MAD Museum of Arts and Design, New York; University for Arts and Culture St. Petersburg; ZKM | Karlsruhe, and Kunsthalle Bern. He recently co-published the anthology Turning Inward in cooperation with Sternberg Press.
ABOUT JUDITH VRANCKEN
Judith Vrancken (1983) is an art historian, critic and writer. She’s a former editor for the publishing house Leesmagazijn and currently an editor for We Are Public and scriptwriter for Nederlands Dans Theater. She regularly contributes to Art Agenda, Frieze d/e, Flash Art, Metropolis M and Artforum. For the latter she wrote an article on Anne de Vries’ exhibition in Foam. Vrancken divides her time between Amsterdam and Berlin.