digital photograph on commuter card, hologram, silver, coralMartina Simeti
Description
Human-crafted. AI-refined.
The artwork features a rectangular frame containing a partially visible human-like figure with a vibrant orange sphere in place of its head. The composition uses a minimalist color palette of navy blue and white, creating a stark contrast that draws the viewer's attention to the central element. The sculptural quality and the juxtaposition of the geometric shape and the organic form suggest a playful yet thought-provoking exploration of the relationship between the human and the artificial. The artist's intention may be to challenge traditional representations and invite the viewer to reflect on the evolving role of technology in our lives. ...
Bernhard Schobinger (b. 1946, Zürich) testifies through his work to a constant experimentation that resists any hierarchisation of the arts. His reuse of ordinary, almost crude, materials shares some of the methods of Surrealism and Arte Povera, as well as display an early influence of Constructivism’s industrial, angular style. But overall, it’s a punk ethos that has permeated Schobinger’s work ever since he encountered the burgeoning subculture in the late-1970s.
From his connections with Concrete art to punk rebellion, from postmodern eclecticism to the smallest of zen-influenced touches, Schobinger’s work makes extensive use of formal and technical invention. His practice brings together opposites, transfiguring everyday objects charged with individual histories.
In the democracy of materials instituted by the artist, noble metals and precious stones sit alongside the waste of industrial civilisation. Combining unexpected materials, his practice subverts conventions of value while opening poetic and critical readings of form.
In 1998 Schobinger was the recipient of the Françoise van den Bosch Award in recognition of his influential contribution to the arts. His work has been widely published and is represented in major public collections worldwide, including the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston and Houston), LACMA (Los Angeles), the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the National Museum of Australia (Canberra), the National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne), the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam and ’s-Hertogenbosch), the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen(Rotterdam), the Pinakothek der Moderne / Die Neue Sammlung, Dannerstiftung (Munich), the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris), MUDAC (Lausanne), the Museum Bellerive and the Schweizerisches National Museum (Zurich), and MAKK – Museum of Applied Arts (Cologne). ...
Since the gallery was established in 2018, Martina Simeti has cultivated an interdisciplinary program. Martina Simeti is deeply involved in the production process together with the represented artists, working actively to generate new opportunities for exhibition beyond its own walls.
