Camilla Steinum at Kunstverein Göttingen

Artist: Camilla Steinum

Exhibition title: zusammen und getrennt

Curated by: Tomke Braun

Venue: Kunstverein Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

Date: March 26 – July 5, 2020

Photography: All works courtesy the artist and Soy Capitán, Berlin. All images by Silke Briel/Peter Heller, © Kunstverein Göttingen

The exhibition is open from 26th of May. The exhibition period is extended until 5th of July.

The work of Norwegian artist and sculptor Camilla Steinum focuses on the quality and characteristics of materials and objects. In „zusammen und getrennt“ (engl.: „together and divided“), the Kunstverein Göttingen presents Steinum‘s first institutional solo show in Germany with mostly new sculptures and installations made of wood, bronze, rubber and fabric.

Steinum develops numerous room-in-room structures for the exhibition, in the shape of containers or cages, based on observations surrounding the need for people to control, divide and differentiate. At the same time, the artist‘s playful visual vocabulary allows for the viewer to experience contradicting traditional ideas surrounding the notion of the interior and the exterior. New biological insights, the challenges confronted with by climate change, and the sociality of individuals, questions previous ideas on detachment of the self from the environment and demands a new approach to forming relationships with fellow humans and our environment. What does it mean to belong and what does it mean when excluded? What lies within and what beyond? And who allows for admission and entry?

Camilla Steinum releases materials and objects from their prescribed function and sounds out their potential to refer to body, power and materialist structures in contemporary society. Working with her hands is an essential part of the artist’s process, so that her work often shines a light on the contrasts between industrial fabrication and artisanal production. Many of her sculptures are based on everyday objects, or enlarge and translate them, into other materials and color concepts. For example, oversized puzzles made of wood, depicting groups of dogs playing on the brink of fighting: Together and yet divided, they border on cuteness and dominance, empathy and disassociation.

– Tomke Braun, Curator

Camilla Steinum, Slimy Affection, 2020, Photo: Silke Briel, © Kunstverein Göttingen

Camilla Steinum, exhibition view Kunstverein Göttingen, 2020, Photo: Silke Briel, © Kunstverein Göttingen

Camilla Steinum, Embrace, 2020, Photo: Silke Briel, © Kunstverein Göttingen

Camilla Steinum, exhibition view Kunstverein Göttingen, 2020, Photo: Silke Briel, © Kunstverein Göttingen

Camilla Steinum, Hopeless efficiency, 2020, Photo: Silke Briel, © Kunstverein Göttingen

Camilla Steinum, exhibition view Kunstverein Göttingen, 2020, Photo: Silke Briel, © Kunstverein Göttingen

Camilla Steinum, Stained sheets, 2020, Photo: Silke Briel, © Kunstverein Göttingen

Camilla Steinum, exhibition view Kunstverein Göttingen, 2020, Photo: Silke Briel, © Kunstverein Göttingen

Camilla Steinum, Strike 1–12, 2020, Photo: Silke Briel, © Kunstverein Göttingen

Camilla Steinum, exhibition view Kunstverein Göttingen, 2020, Photo: Silke Briel, © Kunstverein Göttingen

Camilla Steinum, Blotched Idol, 2020, Photo: Silke Briel, © Kunstverein Göttingen

Camilla Steinum, Workers Feets and Sweaty Torso, 2020, Photo: Peter Heller, © Kunstverein Göttingen

Camilla Steinum, exhibition view Kunstverein Göttingen, 2020, Photo: Silke Briel, © Kunstverein Göttingeny

Camilla Steinum, Play Time, 2020, Photo: Silke Briel, © Kunstverein Göttingen

Camilla Steinum, Smeared Intention, 2020, Photo: Silke Briel, © Kunstverein Göttingen

Camilla Steinum, Gradual Treasures, 2017, Photo: Silke Briel, © Kunstverein Göttingen