- Art Collection Telekom presents contemporary women artists and live performance
- Works by Aneta Grzeszykowska, Šejla Kamerić, Sanja Iveković and Maria Kulikovska
- Deutsche Telekom shows a VR tour through the last exhibition ‘I Am The Mouth’
- Acquisition from Art Collection Telekom at viennacontemporary
It is the first time, the Art Collection Telekom presents itself at viennacontemporary (booth E02/F01), being held September 27–30, 2018 in Vienna. The collection shows works by contemporary female artists focusing on the image of women in society. In addition to portraits by Polish artist Aneta Grzeszykowska, works by Šejla Kamerić (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Sanja Iveković (Croatia) and Maria Kulikovska (Ukraine) will be on display. Established in 2010, Art Collection Telekom focuses on contemporary art from the countries of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.
‘Taking part in the viennacontemporary for the first time is another highlight for our fledgling collection. It is important to ensure that as many people as possible experience art,’ says Antje Hundhausen, Vice President of 3D Brand Experience at Deutsche Telekom and responsible for building up the Art Collection Telekom. ‘The fair offers an ideal opportunity to expand our collection with a new acquisition.’
The portraits by Polish artist Aneta Grzeszykowska center around questions of representation and the possibilities offered by photography. The photos from her ‘Negative Book’ series were taken in 2012/13 during a residency in Los Angeles. In a kind of ongoing performance, the artist covered her body with black paint and took photographs. The black and white photographs were directly printed from the negative leading to a reversal of the colour tones: light appears dark and vice versa.
The photo entitled ‘Embarazada’, 2015 is a life-size nude image of a pregnant woman and a self-portrait of the artist Šejla Kamerić, who was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1976. She appears like a Pierrot, in white makeup against a dark background that evokes a classical interior. It is an intimate view and a nonstandard representation of female nudes. For the artist, it is a sign of emancipation and self-liberation.
Since the 1970s, the works of Croatian artist Sanja Iveković, born 1949, have been influenced by her commitment to the rights, protection and self-determination of women. The images in the ‘Women’s House (Sunglasses)’ series, 2002-2004, are the result of her close collaboration with women’s shelters. Stories of women who have been subjected to domestic violence and who have sought refuge at shelters for abused women are printed over glamourous advertising images for exclusive sunglasses.
Maria Kulikovska was born in Ukraine in 1988. The three figures ‘Homo Bulla (white, red, green)’, 2015 are sculpted from soap and modeled on the artist’s own body. Kulikovska created an initial version of the sculptures in 2012 for the Izolyatsia Foundation in Donetsk. The works were willfully destroyed in 2014 when militia of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic occupied the Foundation. A live performance by Maria Kulikovska will take place at the vernissage and again on September 27 at the Deutsche Telekom booth.
‘By constantly expanding the Art Collection Telekom, we are doing meaningful groundwork, promoting contemporary local artists, bringing different cultural spheres into contact, and breaking down barriers,’ says Antje Hundhausen. ‘We are employing new technologies to make art accessible and want to develop innovative models for mediating art.’ The art collection is accessible via internet and app, but also by virtual reality (VR). The VR tour through the exhibition ‘I Am The Mouth’ provides a sample of this.
The Art Collection Telekom currently comprises some 200 works by 70 artists. The purpose is to support artists, particularly younger ones, and accompany them over a longer period. Since its public premiere at the me Collectors Room in Berlin in 2014, the collection has been shown in exhibitions at the MNAC National Museum of Contemporary Art in Bucharest (2016), the Xawery Dunikowski Museum of Sculpture in the Królikarnia Palace in Warsaw (2017), and the MSU Museum for Contemporary Art in Zagreb (2018). The collection can also be viewed through a special Art Collection Telekom app and on the website www.art-collection-telekom.com.
Photo material: http://bit.ly/ArtCollectionTelekom_Wien
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