Summer 2009—Artificial Sediments
Various processes of concentrating and transformating often play a central role in the works and performances of Katja Schenker. In her artistic re-engineering of materials, substances or objects in daily use, she employs unlikely approaches that she often develops as a result of a physical impulse. At the same time, she also utilizes cultural-historical or metaphorical elements of meaning that resonate in the materials, objects, processing techniques or designations of them that are employed. Thus, for example, in the case of the emergency parachute that she transformed and concentrated into a compact object ostensibly reminiscent of a life preserver by means of gathering and sewing it during a performance that lasted several hours. Or when she subtly draws the attention of observers to issues through interventions in farming or cultivated urban landscapes that hardly anyone has noticed or considered and may therefore exert a fascinating perplexity.
As guest artist in the Sitterwerk, Katja Schenker realized a work for the U-Topics sculpture exhibition in Biel. The small-format models that she employed to clarify questions of materials and develop her methods already convey an idea of the work that she finally realized in a size of two by two meters. From a precisely selected assembling of various materials, Katja Schenker produced a conglomeration bound together with cement, which resembles a conglomerate of rocks with various types and sizes of pebbles. For it, she excavated a 50-centimeter-deep pit and filled it with rocks, metal remains of casting, pieces of wood, etc. She collected and prepared the objects that she wanted to use for this during the first weeks of her stay in the studio based on meticulous research and lucky coincidences. Thus, for example, the femur of a cow was cleansed of all remains of meat by cooking it for many hours. From a quarry, came a collection of pieces of diverse stones, to be cut by the artist prior to the mixing. Wood in different forms, sizes and colors also formed part of the deliberately organized conglomeration.
The artist estimated a weight of around five tons, to afterwards be lifted from the pit and cut into a precise four-sided cube with a diamond saw. As a result of the exact cuts, the conglomerations, connections and concentrations of the objects only seemingly coincidentally employed and placed in the pit are directly intelligible for observers. (um)
Open studios of Michelle Grob, Katja Schenker and Katalin Deér
June 18, 2009, starting at 5pm
U-Topics, 11th Swiss Sculpture Exhibition in BielAugust 30 to October 25; Vernissage on August 29, 2009
For «Edition 5», which for 15 years has regularly issued multiples limited to five copies in cooperation with artists such as Valentin Carron, Fabrice Gygi, San Keller or Roman Signer and many others, Katja Schenker is currently working on an edition of such artificial sediments.
Open Studio
Thursday, June 18, 2009
starting at 5pm, with bratwurst and beer