Curatorial Text / Kostka Gallery / Thomas Bischoff (FR) Oscillations

KOSTKA GALLERY

presents the exhibition

 THOMAS BISCHOFF (FR): OSCILLATIONS  

curator: Zuzana Jakalová

opening: 3.12. v 19.00

exhibition duration: 4. 12. 2014 – 30. 1. 2015

The sound of motion, the motion of sound, the weight of motion, the weight of sound, the sound of metal, the metallic sound – all forming into a piece of poetry, which resonates in one’s ears and circulates in one’s mind. Rhythmical vibes and industrial vibrations, silence just before breakers come, trembling after a moment of peace, tightening and letting go, passionate sparking between the object and the space. Perhaps all of these words at least remotely grasp the emotional metaphors entering our imagination in the very moment when Thomas Bischoff’s objects begin to spin.

The exhibition project titled Oscillation presented in Kostka Gallery brings together the author’s interest in two seemingly distant things: a dense material on one side, and sound on the other. While the former is inflexible, heavy, clumsy and unpractical, the latter is characterized by its lightness, immateriality and variability. Its nature is far from the haptic weight of the metal. A sensitive observer will hesitate –industrial vibrations, metallic sound? However, the choreography of the loud objects in motion is peculiarly disturbing. It’s neither chaotic, nor strictly organized. It is positioned somewhere in between order and disarray, in a space in-between, in a mild tension among surprise and repetition. The movement of the metal objects copy the flaws of the floor, their weight creates new paths, cracks, their own place. The objects on leashes expand decently, slide the space in a comfortable manner, hit the barriers, and fend off them. At times they act angry, at times they whistle, play or mumble. Yet they always stop for a moment, only in order to start all over again. Through the alteration of the still and quiet phase and the mobile and sonic phase, the installation offers a moment of rest for the viewer as well. Perhaps the second round will bring about different motion, less probable sound? The controlled yet rollicking game carried out by Bischoff in the Kostka Gallery space is therefore up to be played repeatedly, yet slightly differently in each round.

 Instead of describing what happens to the objects in the given space, the exhibition title then rather suggests a model of mutual interaction of heaviness and lightness, metal and sound; perhaps the most exciting part being the oscillating friction, which connects the surfaces. The minor irregularities make us want to watch the process again and again and again and again. 

Thomas Bischoff ( ⃰ 1979) studied at Université Marc Bloch a École Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Strasbourg. In his work, he deals with movement. In his case, movement can create an interactive physical situation, but can also represent a poetic metaphor. And thus earth, wind, and fire are in motion in his works, just as his iron objects themselves. 

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The residence of Thomas Bischoff was kindly supported by the French Institute in Prague and CEAAC in Strasbourg.

Open daily 1pm – 8pm Voluntary admission fee 

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Guided tours and workshops for schools or other groups are available upon request.

Contacts and more information:

Christina Gigliotti - PR & Marketing
christina@meetfactory.cz
+ 420 777 966 117

Zuzana Jakalová – Curator of the MeetFactory AiR Program
zuzana@meetfactory.cz
+ 420 776 232 924

MeetFactory is supported in 2014 by a grant from the City of Prague amounting to 6.500.000 CZK.