Hans Hemmert, This preparation of readiness for keeping oneself open to the arrival or absence of the god: Kavi Gupta | 835 W. Washington Blvd. Chicago, IL, 60607

Kavi Gupta Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Berlin-based artist Hans Hemmert who is well known for his philosophical investigations between ideas of space, physicality, religion and the presence and absence of being. The title of the exhibition emphasizes Hemmert’s ongoing interests in these subjects as it is borrowed from the famous Der Spiegel interview with Martin Heidegger from 1966. This latest exhibition will continue to represent the artist’s distinct visual language that is often characterized by his sense of humor and signature use of the color yellow. The show will include several yellow fiberglass sculptures, projected animations and drawings as well as a number of sculptures emphasizing new investigations with light and text.

Hans Hemmert has been exploring the physicality of space and being within his work since the creation of his well-known over-sized latex yellow balloons which he placed in architectural spaces molding a large void within a fragile membrane as well as his egg-shaped balloons in which he would insert himself heightening the body’s physical sense of space. The most recent work by Hemmert addresses the solidity of his forms and the juxtaposition of his disparate images through the use of fiberglass, and again, the bright yellow that is now in the form of a commercial high gloss varnish. His sculptures have literally become devotional objects as religious iconography is absorbed into contemporary consumer culture. A representation of John the Evangelist morphs together with a boom box – or a Porsche is adorned with a cross for a hood ornament.

Popular culture enters Hemmert’s work also through his video projections which involve a collage of video footage borrowed from sources that range from the artist’s personal footage to Japanese and German films and popular television shows like Sex in the City. These images are then embedded within one of Hemmert’s drawings which is then layered once more as it is projected onto a piece of paper on the wall – regenerating itself as a drawing within a layered projection of space and time. The project room of the gallery will also include a solitary work of a meticulously crafted paper replica of the Speyer Cathedral in which another one of Hemmert’s videos involving footage of Anna Karina dissected from a Godard film is placed within hand drawn images of the cathedral and projected back onto itself.
Hans Hemmert (b. 1960, lives and works in Berlin). A catalogue of Hans Hemmert’s latest work has just been produced for his solo show at Städtische Galerie Nordhorn, Germany. Other recent solo exhibitions include shows at Carlier/Gebauer, Berlin; Galerie Frank, Paris; Institut für Moderne Kunst Nürnberg, Germany; Museo Carrillo Gil, Mexico City; Neuer Berliner Kunstverein Berlin; and the Museum Folkwang Essen. Hemmert has also been included in numerous group exhibitions including Neues Museum Weserburg, Bremen; Art Museum of Estonia; Prague Biennale 2; Art Unlimited at Art Basel and the ICA London.