Interlude: Manuel Burgener

Galerie Maria Bernheim is pleased to present the second solo show of Manuel Burgener with the gallery. Entitled “Interlude”, the show runs from January 17 until February 23, 2019. 

For this exhibition, the artist will present new bodies of work creating an interpretation of the space, the sculptures creating an in situ work whilst existing within their own realm. 

Reflecting upon traditional ideas of sculpture, but also the concepts of rudimentary architecture, Burgener explores the motif of the column. Repeating the two columns existing in the window, as structural necessary elements, he uses the exact same measurements, yet this is the only common point. These sculptures are filled with light, they do not support the space, yet fill it with a color, with the warmth irradiating through the textured sculpture. Made of glass covered with resin, as to resemble fabric, this essential shape turns into a questioning and rediscovery of the whole environment. Probing our sense of space, but also of the meaning of the sculpture, when suddenly, a purpose arises, lighting up the room. 

Almost in opposition, the wall hanging structures span from versions of windows. A mechanism first elaborated for his solo show at PasquArt in Biel, the sculpture spans from a system of kitchen cabinet; which allows for the door to open upwards. Hung at torso level, they feel like a mobile window, yet one that has been used as a canvas, a receptacle for exposing UV cured glue between two sheets of glass. Once again, Burgener harvests techniques and motifs from photography to subvert its materials and expose another aspect of image making. Rendered useless by these placements, these windows lose their usage yet remain an opening of the space into another dimensionality. 

Wanting to bring the feeling of a body into the exhibition, Burgener creates forced relationships of scale, columns too tall, windows too small, he imposes on the viewer a superimposition of familiar objects that all feel wrong. A line subverts the space, hanging through the exhibition, piercing to the corridor. Flesh colored hoodies hang from the wall, at first imperceptible, a hole, as if pierced by a bullet, of metal engraved with the artist’s initials and the title of the show. The hole coincides with the exact spot of the solar plexus, from which many nerves are radiating. Often referred to in the context of a blow to the stomach, it can cause the diaphragm to spasm, resulting in difficulty in breathing—a sensation commonly known as "getting the wind knocked out of you".

Manuel Burgener has been the subject of numerous solo shows in museums and institutions internationally such as PasquArt, Biel, Site 131 Dallas and Kunsthalle Bern. 

For further information please contact:

+41 79 700 799 28 / info@mariabernheim.com