Hand-blown glass
Nature Morte presents a solo show of paintings and sculptures by the German artist Matti Braun. Braun’s practice is characterized by a constant negotiation between concrete references and general allusions, between poetic ephemerality and a sense of visceral immediacy. His work investigates the unexpected effects of cross-cultural dynamics, making patterns of artistic migrations and cultural misrecognitions visible and tactile.
This is the artist’s first solo exhibition in India, a country which has deeply influenced and inspired him. The title of the exhibition, Noil, refers to the short fibers that are removed during the combing process of spinning silk, and the textured fabrics that are made from them, usually referred to as raw or natural silk.
The paintings, from two different series, are done on silk with deeply saturated colors. Some are seamless color gradations, while the others are abstractions of energetic splashes of colors. The dye process used for Braun’s paintings has its roots in the artist’s investigation and appropriation of traditional techniques of textile production often used for religious and ritual purposes. There is a palpable tension between the works’ restraint and their hypnotic lushness created by the combination of apparently simple means and the complexity of their creation.
Hand-blown glass
The sculptures present groups of glass works displayed on circular plinths of the artist’s design. The mouth-blown glass objects play with their hybrid status as sculpture and product of craftsmanship and with the tension that has traditionally existed between these two areas of production - that of art and of crafts. The translucent objects recall eyes, especially the protruding 'bug eyes' found in popular representations of the exaggerated physiognomy of alien creatures. Glass is an extremely stable vehicle for colors and these sculptures will retain their chromatics into the distant future.
Also included in the exhibition will be a suite of photographs which depict scenes from The Alien, a performative work staged by Braun at the Laban Theatre in London in 2006. The piece takes inspiration from the storyboard of the unrealized screenplay of the same name by Satyajit Ray. The photographs document a series of theatrical tableaux, combining elements of dance and physical performance with conceptual and visual aesthetics.
As an offshoot of the exhibition, Matti Braun will present his work entitled The Vikram Sarabhai Slide Lecture. The illustrated presentation takes its point of departure from the life and biography of Vikram Sarabhai (1919-1971), best remembered as the father of the Indian space program. It spins a web of interdisciplinary associations, exploring how Sarabhai’s work intersected with major technical and cultural developments and traces the Sarabhai family’s connections with prominent cultural figures, including Rabindranath Tagore, Satyajit Ray, Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, John Cage, and Henri Cartier-Bresson.
Words Platform Desk
Date 06.12.2024
The Alien (London), 2007