Aurel Schmidt “Blast Furnace of Civilization”
Half Gallery
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Blast Furnace of Civilization is Aurel Schmidt’s latest installment from an ongoing series exploring the madness of capitalism. The first two iterations - both dubbed New Gods - offered a glimpse inside the mash-up of globalization and the collateral damage inflicted upon our imaginations. Santa Claus as shiva, Bowery bum lamps, wind chimes and chicken-winged cherubs are just a smattering of the imagery deployed here as if to suggest the absurd horror of a new neo-colonialism. The work bears witness - often in humorous relief - to a consumer culture where sacred symbols are reduced to tramp stamps and corporate branding passes for personality. “I’m interested in the history of objects,” says the artist, “where they come from, the boardroom meetings in which they were conceived, the colors, the smells, the choices made for them and the intentions behind those choices.” With her colored pencil drawings and first-ever painted ceramics, Schmidt demonstrates a reverence for the grotesque, a suspicion of the status quo and reveals the ghost inside the machine-made.
Media
Schedule
from November 17, 2015 to December 15, 2015
Opening Reception on 2015-11-16 from 18:00 to 20:00