Exposition

BERLIN 2019 | Galerie GARTEN 114 | 19.-29. April

[Vernissage 18.04. 7-10pm | Finissage 29.04. 7-10pm]

Epilog

During a long gone afternoon, Jan Scheirs watches another series of the famous nature-documentaries by Sir David Attenborough. Subject is observing the mini- cosmos around an ordinary pond somewhere in the beautiful landscapes of England: It is a hot summer-day; nothing seems to happen. Just a few dragonflies circle gracefully above the silent surface of the water. Suddenly a splash: a fish just jumped out of the water and caught the insect. Attenborough comments with his typical voice: “Every splash is a death! - Every innocent sound within this calmness could be a deadly end for some living being.” The essence of life itself – nothing seems to be, what it is.....

Part 1

The Belgian artist Jan Scheirs was deeply inspired by the power of this phrase. Now – many years later, the upcoming cabinet-exhibition in Berlin [@ Galerie Garten 114*] is based on this inspiring quote. Scheirs invites his viewers to join him and his investigations – his critical, sometimes almost fatalistic view – upon the evolution of global society.

“Nothing is, what it looks like!” It might have always been like that but the artist feels it more than ever. Humanity is getting addicted to things which seem to be indispensable: Sugar-addiction | Selfie-addiction | Alcohol-addiction | Medical- addiction | Sex-addiction | Drug-addiction....etc. - digitally transmitted and always labeled as “The big freedom, that will make you happy!”.

But – does anyone still see the “Big Fish” underneath the surface - watching and observing us – ready to attack when time is right?! Anyone recognizes the simple and naive behaviors – the loss of humanity in ourselves?! And – who really wants to live in a society, where we become slaves of our own lusts and basic needs, orchestrated by artificial intelligence and algorithms?!

Are we aware?! Aware of the “Big Invisible Fish” watching us?!

Part 2

Themed “Every Splash is a Death”, the content of the upcoming exhibition is dealing with the death of the souls. Can we still cope with the speed of changes in every field and do we really need all of them? We are not “there” yet – but, once it is “too late”, will we accept our fate?

Exactly 100 years ago, a large artistic movement was founded among others here in Berlin and spread worldwide. The movement, that in the beginning started mainly in the major European Capitals and New York, based on the philosophical demand for fundamental change: Avantgarde was born. Its followers wanted to change nothing less than the whole world. One hundred years later – it seems, that many visions were realized: life has become faster and more convenient, buildings grow higher and higher into the sky, trains, cars and plains are getting faster and faster – we seem to be richer, healthier and live longer than ever before. But are we happier? Are we really healthy? Or could it be, that global food and pharmaceutic industries are keeping us constantly sick to bond us to needs, sales and payments... In the “Western Society” after WWII a new and happy world was promised: machines and robots would make our lives more comfortable – now, every day we have to deal with updating all those things ourselves, that were supposed to make life easier.

Finally - artificial intelligence has arrived. Shortly after we introduced algorithms to our lives, it seems, as if they already have taken over to decide about our success or failure. But can we cope with this – is our brain able to deal with the speed of these procedures?! It is obvious, how many individuals are getting mentally, physically and emotionally tired.

Is humanity moving towards an apocalyptic genocide worse than WW1 and WWII together? More and more of everything is demanded. Such a flood of “more”; nobody takes a notice of the detail – and within floods of “new” we get bored. And suddenly – someone collapses – a soul just dies. The fish just jumped and caught.

Part 3

The exhibition coming up is a symbiosis of elder and brand-new works portraying these “digital influences” on our mental habits and behaviors. Jan Scheirs style reflects Expressionism, New Objectivity [“Neue Sachlichkeit”] and Avantgarde to a very own recognizable form quoting Modernism. The artist defines his œuvre as „Nouveau Expressionniste Fauvisme“. Typical for his paintings are references to art history wrapped in an eclectic theatrical view on the world.

This cabinet-exhibition wants to connect the spirits of Berlin 1919 and today – bringing those two together. Therefor, the curator will lean to the intimate atmosphere of the “Berliner Salons” of the “Golden 20th”. The premium selection of works will combine paintings, drawings, video and sculpture. Central piece is the epic work of the artist “Raft of Lampedusa | 2015”*2. The artist will be present

during the opening and a selection of appointments.

Contact | Curator: B. Althans info@servicewerk.com ARTIST www.scheirs.com