Urban|Land art connection
Dagmar Ranft-Schinke Chemnitz Dr Silvie Jacobie & Steven Young London Guido Günther Chemnitz/ Striegistal Jan Thau Glauchau Jens Ossada Kriebstein Kiträ Bucharest Kera Berlin Markus Esche Glauchau Michael Drosdek Jena Philipp Eichhorn Halle
At the beginning of November, the EKG invited several regional, national and international artists to the MakerHub "UWEtzdorf" for a seven-day workshop in Striegistal. The resulting project "Urban|Land art connection" is centred around a creative exchange between artists with different backgrounds and approaches and the development of strategies to bring urban, urban-influenced art from the street art sector to the local, rural area.
The countryside is seen as an unplayed space that also opens up new possibilities and experiences in dialogue with local people. Authenticity and direct contact stand in contrast to a culturally oversaturated, anonymous metropolitan art world. In addition, rural structures offer more opportunities for artists than a gentrified, overpriced space in the city.
The Etzdorf substation is a place that brings art into rural areas, literally providing art space and making it accessible to the public. This space is, however, designed with the region in mind; for example, a mosaic project was initiated during the week of work, which will characterise the public space in Rosswein.
In the labyrinthine rooms of the transformer station, several works were created that deal with the architecture of the location and its surroundings in a painterly, abstract way. For example, a floor painting by Kera can be entered on the top floor to immerse oneself in a two-dimensional, graphic moving pattern. An approx. 3.80 m high cone by Freizeitgruppe Gestaltung can be used to create images with coloured dips over one floor and to capture a kind of essence of the building on paper.
In his painting, Phillip Eichhorn has the space cleared by an ensemble of figures and geometric abstract lettering by Kiträ forms a colourful architectural support for the large hall. A fractal, graphic landscape by Michael Drosdek seems to vibrate through the last discharges of old transformers and resistors.
In addition to the spatial works, around 42 different canvases and a series of woodcuts printed on site were created in several collaborative painting sessions. Under the theme "SEE THE UNSEEN!", the artists processed their thoughts, ideas and impressions on the Capital of Culture, the advancing digitalisation and its relationship to rural areas. This resulted in the "SEE THE UNSEEN!" exhibition, which opened on 9 December 2013 at the Rebel Art Gallery in Chemnitz.
Another component of the project is to establish connections to other European countries and artistic, cultural ideas and thus generate new influences. For example, an exchange project was discussed and initiated via the Romanian artist Kiträ. Accompanied by the framework of the Capital of Culture Chemnitz, the aim is to build a bridge between different countries in other areas.
Supported by the Makers, Business & Arts project of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025
