NOWs: Rafael Ibarra at Meisterschülerpreis

01 December 2017 - 07 January 2018 / Nows

Rafael Ibarra: Ophelia, 2017

NOWs:

Meisterschüler Award of the President of the UdK Berlin

Opening: 30 November, 7 pm

at

Haus am Lützowplatz

The winners of this year’s Meisterschüler Award, given by the President of the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin), are Lisa Peters, Gary Schlingheider and Rafael Ibarra. On 30 November, they will be showing their works in a joint exhibition in the Haus am Lützowplatz.

Lisa Peters, born in 1989, studied sculpture with Christiane Möbus and, most recently, with Ina Weber, with whom she also did her Meisterschüler studies. In addition to the photographic work “Superwoman”, which was created together with Lisa Drost, Peters is also showing two video installations, for the purpose of which she put friends and strangers in front of the camera. The two works, “how you’re doing” and “Solo”, allow the viewer to gain access to the lives and personalities of the protagonists.

Gary Schlingheider, born in 1983, studied painting with Pia Fries and Gregory Cumins and did his Meisterschüler studies with Christine Streuli. Schlingheider’s sculptural works are like abstract drawings that have left behind their pictorial background in order to achieve a palpable presence as three-dimensional objects in space. Engagement with everyday objects plays a fundamental role in this process. Despite their sculptural nature, the objects also thematise essential issues of painting, such as the treatment of colour, form, structure and framing.

Rafael Ibarra, born in 1986, studied with Ólafur Elíasson and sculpture with Gregor Schneider and Tilman Wendland. He also did his Meisterschüler studies with Wendland. Among other works, Ibarra is showing his ephemeral piece “Ophelia”, which is inspired by childhood memories and Shakespeare plays and which frees itself from the rigid schema of immovable sculpture thanks to the material he has used: sand. Ibarra develops the procedural character in the form of performance, which he will show at the opening of the exhibition. He writes in his artist statement: “Human bodies and organic matter are the main elements of the new sculptural actions that I developed for the exhibition. Their ephemeral existence is based on childhood memories, physical feelings and Shakespearean plays to find resonances in the body of the visitors.”

Since 1997, the Meisterschüler Award of the President of the UdK Berlin has been awarded annually to three outstanding Meisterschüler at the College of Fine Arts. The goal is to create a bridge between the university and the art world. A joint exhibition and one’s own catalogue are included in the prize. Since 2016, the Haus am Lützowplatz has been the institutional partner for this exhibition format.

The 2017 jury was composed of:

Prof. Martin Rennert, President of the UdK Berlin, Prof. Ina Weber, UdK Berlin, College of Fine Arts, Dr. Marc Wellmann, Artistic Director, Haus am Lützowplatz, Dr. Julia Wallner, Director, Georg Kolbe Museum, Ms. Joanna Kiliszek, Cultural Historian

Rafael Ibarra: Ophelia 2017; Installation; Woman, soil, 1 hour. A woman was buried in the floor of a kitchen in her hometown, she remained still for an hour.

Rafael Ibarra: Untitled 2017; Installation; Woman, rope, 20 min. A woman was tied to a tree in her hometown. Throughout the duration of the piece she remains silent contemplating the landscape.