Even if nobody stepped into the spaces of Galerie Max Hetzler (Bleibtreustraße 45) in Berlin to see Raphaela Simon's exhibition (the second solo event with the gallery) entitled "Sterne" (on until today), the gallery would still be populated by arty visitors. How could it be possible, you may wonder?
Well, "Stern" features Simon's paintings but also a series of fabric sculptures that seem to move around the gallery spaces as if they were real visitors.
The paintings by Simon included in this exhibition are characterised by vibrant colours and imperfect geometries, clear and stripy patterns, at times evoking the works of Agnes Martin, but reinterpreted in a lighter way. Displaying simple motifs that are quite often combined and repeated, these works are characterised by concise titles like "Gerät" (Apparatus), "Schlafsack" (Sleeping Bag) or "Aufgeräumt" (Tidy), "Pflaster" (Patch), "Hut" (Hat) and "Schirm" (Umbrella), that turn them into modern infographics.
The stark works seem to be representations of a small geometrically abstract world, that often revolves around a basic palette of pale blue and white. In this world move Simon's soft cotton sculptures representing people and objects.
There's a cool elderly lady with curly hair here who may have been pictured in one of those blogs about advanced styles; there's a gallery curator in blonde hair wearing an electric blue dress, smoking a cigarette and chatting with a hip visitor in dark sunglasses and a cute dog on a leash.
A young woman in a red ensemble and thigh high black boots stands at the toilet sink with a glass of red wine, her perfect red lips proving she has just finished retouching her make up.
A man lies on the floor, maybe too tired and drunk or simply trying to look at the art on display from a different point of view, while another figure entirely dressed in black clothes may be a vision from a film noir set-up or maybe he's a thief suspiciously looking around and ready to run away from the gallery with some precious artworks as soon as somebody gets distracted.
Objects complement the exhibition, including a cart with some glasses, bottles and scattered cigarettes, and several suitcases in a pleasant shade of orange evoking luxury luggage à la Hermès in a corner.
The best thing about the sculptures is that they are all made using fabrics and, while this may not be a new technique, Simon's pieces look intriguing as the artist created them paying attention to details (check out the immaculately manicured nails on some of the ladies you encounter in the gallery, their hairstyles and distinctive facial features) and giving them personalities.
The figures and the paintings are connected in multiple ways: first of all also the figures are characterised by short and immediate names such as "Lila Frau" (Violet Woman), "Tasche" (Bag) and "Hund" (Dog), but they also have a key role in the exhibition spaces as they activate the paintings starting an arty performance and inviting visitors to become additional characters in their own narrations.
You can bet you will see Raphaela Simon's detailed and fashionably dressed characters at some point at a fashion runway, maybe sitting in the front row, staring at the models like fashion editors and critics would do, silently taking note of the clothes they may want to wear at their next exhibition.
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