Elger Esser. Zeitigen Baden-Württemberg State Prize for the Visual Arts February 10 July 2016

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1 Pressemitteilung Elger Esser. Zeitigen Baden-Württemberg State Prize for the Visual Arts February 10 July 2016 Coinciding with the award of the Oskar Schlemmer Prize 2016, the Kunsthalle Karlsruhe is hosting an exhibition of eight photographic cycles by the artist Elger Esser. Born in 1967 in Stuttgart, Esser studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf where he attended the master class of Bernd Becher. His own practice evolved in the nineties within the circle of Becher s class and was thus influenced by the vital confrontation with the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher and their approach to documentation and classification. Nonetheless Elger Esser s images resist the function of photography as a means of replication and counteract the universe of digital images that some of Becher s students reference in their works. Elger Esser interprets photography as an independent creative art. His carefully composed pictures are posited between specific traditions within the history of painting and photographic pictorialism. Against the contrasting backdrop of contemporary media praxis, his works make statements about the creation of images, as well as time, memory and the act of remembering. Contact Alexandra Hahn Press and media T hahn@kunsthalle-karlsruhe.de Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe Hans-Thoma-Straße 2 6 D Karlsruhe Elger Esser s photographs of landscapes and old empty buildings, discovered during his travels in France and sometimes abandoned to dereliction or obscurity, set the stage not only through composition, the selection of the frame, and the viewpoint; they also create atmospheres of remembrance, in particular by employing a broad range of photographic techniques. These include long exposures, blurring, changes to the natural coloration and retouching, the experimental use of unusual support materials (such as silvered metal plates), and old printing methods (such as heliogravure). By making famous topographies of art history, such as the coastal region of Brittany or Claude Monet s garden in Giverny, the subject matter of his works, Esser traces the layers of images that have been retained in our collective memory. He also takes up motifs from the media and communications culture of the 19th and early 20th centuries, for example, by zooming in on details of French postcards until the images are broken down to a resolution reminiscent of Pointillism. The artist is not interested in the transience of a situation but instead always aims to create enduring and poignant compositions. 1/5

2 Elger Esser s art is the product of the late 20th/early 21st century but his pictures only indirectly address the era in which they were made. In a fundamental sense they deal with the medium of photography and temporality. Each of his photographs, which function both as part of a series and as independent works of art, deal implicitly with the conflict between different temporal orders: between the temporal mode of the accelerated present which, especially in the media of image production, proceeds ever faster from problem to solution, and the decelerating act of recollection that is the temporal mode of cultural memory. Elger Esser grew up in Rome. He returned to Germany in 1986 and enrolled at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in In 1996, he joined the master class of Bernd Becher and in 2008 he was appointed guest professor at the Folkwang Schule in Essen. From 2006 to 2009, he served as professor of photography at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Karlsruhe. Since the mid-nineties, Elger Esser has regularly taken part in international solo and group exhibitions and his works are represented at numerous significant museums and art collections, such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Metropolitan Museum, New York, the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Kunsthaus Zurich, the Musée d art moderne Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, and in the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich. The exhibition showcases about 75 works from Elger Esser s series Ansichten, , Wrecks, 2006, Ägypten (Egypt), 2011, Landschaften (Landscapes), , Giverny, 2010, Ninfa, 2013, Combray, , and Undinen (Undines), A catalogue published by Schirmer-Mosel, Munich, will accompany the exhibition, with texts by Bernd Stiegler and Kirsten Voigt. 2/5

3 Oskar Schlemmer Prize Baden-Württemberg Prize for Visual Arts February 2016, 7 pm, public event The Oskar Schlemmer Prize of 25,000 was awarded for the first time in 2014 to artist Katharina Grosse. The state of Baden-Württemberg awards the prize to artists with a connection to the region who have had a significant impact on contemporary art and have already achieved international acclaim. The prize will be awarded by State Secretary for Art Jürgen Walter MdL, at a ceremony on 19 February 2016 (at 7 pm) at the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe. The laudatory speech will be given by Prof. Dr. Armin Zweite. Programme Events in German Artists roundtable: Wed, , 7 pm Crashing waves A discussion between Hubertus von Amelunxen, Berlin and Elger Esser on the materiality of the image, presented by Pia Müller-Tamm Themed tours: Tues, , 7 pm Getting a Handle on Art and on Memory Elger Esser s Approach to Remembering Kirsten Voigt Tues, , 7 pm Seeing Landscapes, Perceiving Nature Observations on the Old Masters and Elger Esser Holger Jacob-Friesen Tues, , 7 pm Getting a Handle on Art and on Memory Elger Esser s Approach to Remembering Kirsten Voigt 3/5

4 Public tours Sundays, 3 pm Junge Kunsthalle Elger Esser Programme Saturday, 9 April, 3 pm 5 pm Journey Along the Nile Colouring in works on paper with pastels, watercolours or markers. For children from 8 years of age. Saturday, 7 May, 3 pm 5 pm Elger Esser Meets Johann Wilhelm Schirmer Sea spray breaking against rugged cliffs. Create exciting pictures of the sea using the monotype process. For children from 8 years of age. Saturday, 4 June, 3 pm 5 pm Stranded! Old ships stranded in the mud. Fascinating photographs inspire children to create images using tempera, acrylics, pastels or transfer printing. For children from 10 years of age. Saturday, 2 July, 3 pm 5 pm Stormy Seas Images of the sea with turbulent waves are created with thick brushes, lots of colour and paste paper. For children from 5 years of age. 4/5

5 During the Whitsun holidays Photos Become Pictures and Pictures Become Photos May, 2 pm 5 pm Join us on a walk through the park and the city with a digital camera as we hunt for motifs to create unusual pictures. Afterwards the photos will be edited using digital and analogue techniques and then printed. For children and teenagers from 12 years of age. Andrea Schendekehl Price: 20 Please reserve your place in advance if you would like to take part in any of these activities! Telephone 0721/ or service@kunsthalle-karlsruhe.de Reservations are only possible up until 4 pm on the last work day before the course is scheduled to take place. A minimum number of participants is required. 5/5