Interiors at Maria Bernheim

Artists: Mitchell Anderson, John Armleder, Martine Bedin, Manuel Burgener, Miriam Laura Leonardi, Nick Oberthaler, Gaetano Pesce, Jessi Reaves, Denis Savary, Ramaya Tegegne, Rico Weber

Exhibition title: Interiors

Venue: Maria Bernheim, Zürich, Switzerland

Date: November 24, 2017 – January 13, 2018

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists and Maria Bernheim

Interiors are reduced. The cold chic tones and emptiness of minimalism seem to have won for now, at least at home. IKEA brought the look to everyone. Not long ago one accumulated. One had things one used, one pondered, one explored over a lifetime. The gallery here is all storefront, large windows sweep across two sides, Woody Allen’s movie Interiors was supposed to be called Windows. Cinematographer Gordon Willis would use that title for his only directorial effort in 1980. It was Diane Keaton who suggested the title Interiors. The interior and the exterior are somehow mixed. As Allen pointed out, “I started with an idea for the mother, a New York woman with incredibly good taste, style, breeding, who doesn’t like the way things are turning out for her.”

Art may look like it has a use, but one that is not allowed. Art can look like it has less physical use than it does. There is a comic irony in these pieces. They compete from opposite spectrums. Some want to be part of the personal lives of others, others originated from those lives and are not interested in going back. A blending of the borders occurs as well. Like the film quoted, here is an attempt to let humor be overwritten with drama. The results are something that should be argued over.

Interiors, 2017-2018, exhibition view, Maria Bernheim, Zürich

Ramaya Tegegne, Our Bodies Ourselves, 2017, Print on glass, 14 x 6 x 4 cm, 5 1/2 x 2 3/8 x 1 5/8 in

Miriam Laura Leonardi, Two Pairs of Shoes (Sizes 35 & 41), 2017, Handmade shoes (leather, wood, thread) and doormat, 51.5 x 38.5 cm, 20 1/4 x 15 1/8 in

Mitchell Anderson, End Credits, 2014, Embroidered wall hanging from Brian, DePalma’s ‘Carrie’ (1976), 70.5 x 33.7 cm, 27 3/4 x 13 1/4 in

Miriam Laura Leonardi & Denis Savary, Daisy, 2017, window sticker, dimensions variable, minimum: width of the window where installed

Jessi Reaves, Wet Seals, 2016, Wicker, metal, velvet, cain & upholstery foam, thread, 106 x 62 x 52 cm, 41 3/4 x 24 3/8 x 20 1/2 in

Nick Oberthaler, Untitled, 2017, Print on velour-carpet (Velour 400/Latex backing), 200 x 120 cm, 78 3/4 x 47 1/4 in

Gaetano Pesce, Blue Roots Vase, 2015, Urethane resin, 15.5 x 7 x 11 cm, 6 1/8 x 2 3/4 x 4 3/8 in

Rico Weber, Fuego, 2000, Acrylic resin, silicone, metal, photo print, 52 x 76 x 3 cm, 20 1/2 x 29 7/8 x 1 1/8 in

Ramaya Tegegne, Our Bodies Ourselves, 2017, Print on ceramics, 9.5 x 8 x 5 cm, 3 3/4 x 3 1/8 x 2 in, Edition of 3 + 1 AP

Manuel Burgener, Untitled, 2017, Glass, cable, metal, 74 x 53 x 35 cm, 29 1/8 x 20 7/8 x 13 3/4 in

Nick Oberthaler, Untitled (GMBH-LS257), 2017, Print on velour-carpet (Velour 400/Latex backing), 200 x 120 cm, 78 3/4 x 47 1/4 in

John Armleder, Stand(RL), FS, 2008, Acrylic on canvas with the valet stand by Raymond Loewy, 107 x 250 x 54 cm, 42 1/8 x 98 3/8 x 21 1/4 in

Nick Oberthaler, Untitled (Generation Decay), 2017, Print on velour-carpet (Velour 400/Latex backing), 200 x 120 cm, 78 3/4 x 47 1/4 in

Denis Savary, Feu D’Artifice, 2017, Blown glass, 70 x 70 x 75 cm, 27 1/2 x 27 1/2 x 29 1/2 in

Mitchell Anderson, the charge of a star!, 2011, Elvis Presley’s drapes 1967 – 1974, 213.4 x 30 cm, 84 1/8 x 11 3/4 in

Martine Bedin, Escalier Graal, Laquered wood and cast glass, 170 x 50 x 123 cm, 66 7/8 x 19 3/4 x 48 3/8 in

Mitchell Anderson, Obsession, 2014, Embroidery on Indian cotton, 96 x 137 cm, 37 3/4 x 54 in