Outset Germany_Switzerland supported Yngve Holen’s solo exhibition “Horses” at Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, which presented the artist’s new series of works “Rose Painting” (2018).
The starting point of the series is the rims of five different SUV models. Their isolated cores were 3D scanned, scaled to a diameter of two meters, and milled in cross-laminated timber. The shift in size and change of materials, from aluminium to wood, makes the works recall the wagon wheels of historical horse-drawn carriages or stagecoaches. In their deliberate non-functionality, they particularly emphasize the ornamental quality and point to an entire spectrum of concentrically designed elements, from the rose painting style to the Gothic rose window. Holen’s choice of industrial cross-laminated timber can be understood as a commentary on the boom in the use of this material in the name of environmentally-conscious behaviour and naturalness, thus pointing to a contemporary taste that is oriented toward tradition.
As a recall, the presentation poses questions about seriality as well as art as a product. The act of collecting can be interpreted as a protective action that entails a clear aspect of control.
Following the exhibition of works from the Rose Painting series at Galerie Neu during Gallery Weekend 2018 in Berlin and later in Milan at Converso, in the former church of San Paolo Converso, all twenty works have been shown at Kunsthalle Du?sseldorf for the first and only time.
Yngve Holen
Yngve Holen was born 1982 in Braunschweig, Germany. He is a Norwegian-German artist. He lives and works in Berlin.
Holen studied at Sta?delschule in Frankfurt and is a “Meisterschu?ler in Bildhauerei”. In his sculptural works, Holen analyzes the relationship between the design and function of objects, and therein their associated value generation and fetishization.
By depriving everyday products of industry and technology of their original function, altering them, and translating them into the context of art, the artist simultaneously poses questions about industrial production, current technical developments, and mechanized procedures. He examines objects and designs and their relationship to individual constructions of status and power structures.
