Johannes Wald at Rolando Anselmi

Artist: Johannes Wald

Exhibition title: Giovanni Bosco

Venue: Rolando Anselmi, Rome, Italy

Date: January 30 – March 3, 2018

Photography: Studio Boys / all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Rolando Anselmi, Berlin/Rome

Rolando Anselmi is delighted to present German artist, Johannes Wald, in his first solo exhibition Giovanni Bosco, in the gallery space in Rome. Physically and conceptually Johannes Wald’s work examines sculpture, deconstructing its general perameters and the necessary tenets of its existence. Some of the works shown in the exhibition embody Wald’s musings about his self image as an artist, “a conceptual artist, dreaming of becoming a real sculptor“. Through a prolonged process of sanding and polishing in Stade du Miroir, Wald transforms a piece of obsidian into a mirror. Through Wald’s labor, the dull surface of the stone is converted into a shiny one, capable of reflecting the artist’s image and our outside world. The title of this work refers to the mirror stage, “stade du miroir”, phase of developmental psychology, which describes the moment of apperception when children recognize themselves in a mirror for the first time and perceive themselves as independent individuals. This marks the birth of the personality. It is the physical act of making which enables the artist to find himself and the world reflected. In a similar moment of self reflection, a stack of bronze bars, titled Giovanni Bosco – scultore incompiuto (Giovanni Bosco is the translation of the artist’s name in Italian) suggests another possible corporeality. Seven bronze ingots whose weight corresponds to the weight of the artist apparently wait to find their final form while being put on stage as a valid sculpture. As the title suggests, the state of being incomplete but existing, relates to the psychology of its author. Another aspect of Wald’s practice is exemplified in the bronze work Untitled (various poses), a bronze cast of human legs cut into pieces at the joints. The joints are replaced by flexible straps which allow the legs to be bent and twisted in an ad hoc manner, remaining mobile despite lacking joints. With their flexibility and the makeshift style in which they are positioned, the legs could likely be shown in endless positions. Untitled (various poses) becomes a sculpture in a subjunctive mood, invoking the idea of time, movement and impermanence. The last work (untitled) consists of two framed white paper sheets, embossed with the word „inspiro” on one sheet and „espiro” on the other. With this work Wald closes the circle, equating art making with the act of breathing, linking his work to his bare existence.

Johannes Wald (1980, Sindelfingen, Germany), lives and works in Berlin. Recent solo shows include: Rita Urso Gallery (Milan, 2017), Galerie Marcus Ritter (Leipzig, 2017), Daniel Marzona (Berlin, 2016), Galerie Greta Meert (Brusselles, 2015; 2012), Kunsthalle Bielefeld (Bielefeld, 2015), Museum Kurhaus Kleve (Kleve, 2014), Staatliche Kunstsammlung Dresden (Dresda, 2013), Konrad Fisher Galerie (Düsseldorf, 2012; Berlin, 2011, 2010). Recent group shows include: Hans-Peter-Zimmer-Stiftung (Düsseldorf, 2017), Projektraum Bethanien (Berlin 2017), Simultanhalle (Köln, 2017), Landesvertretung BW (Berlin, 2017), KIT x(Düsseldorf, 2016), Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven (Wilhelmshaven, 2014), Museum Kurhaus Kleve (Kleve, 2014), Hans-Peter-Zimmer-Stiftung (Düsseldorf, 2013), Ostsächsische Kunsthalle (Pulsnitz, 2013), Skulpturenpark Köln (Cologne, 2013), V8-Plattform (Karlsruhe, 2013), Kunsthalle Bielefeld (Bielefeld, 2012), Kunsthalle Mannheim (Mannheim, 2012), Städtische Galerie (Sindelfingen, 2011), Galerie Greta Meert (Brusselles, 2011), Johann König Galerie (Berlin, 2011), Konrad Fischer Galerie (Düsseldorf, 2011), Skulpturenpark Köln (Cologne, 2011).