FRÜHSTÜCK mit SENGL
On the forenoon of 11.06.2017, Art Space Stift
Millstatt presented an arts exhibition titled “Frühstück mit Sengl”, combined
with live music, contemporary dance and a theatrical reading of a piece of text
about the exhibited works. The exhibition was curated by FORUM KUNST
contemporary, choreography and text written by Andrea K Schlehwein and music
performance by Tonc Feinig.
The exhibition displayed works of Peter Sengl, an
artiste that keeps returning to Stift Millstatt. The breakfast saw 50 visitors'
participation, and a well-rounded morning with different genres of art
interacting with one another. As a member of the audience it was hard to say
whether it was a painting exhibition or a dance performance with pictures, or a
music performance with dance, or a theatrical reading show. It was, of course,
all of that and more, and the possibility of interaction with other arts
enthusiasts and the artist himself, who was also present at the event, made the
engagement rather interesting.
Let me go with a top-down approach. The skeleton
of the whole event were, presumably, the works of (Peter) Sengl on display. I
am not a fine artist, nor am I an arts critic, or an art historian. I am a
performing artist, a dancer/choreographer and hence my perception of visual
arts come with their own limitations and insights. Therefore, I am simply going
to take that lead and share some of my perceptions of the works that I
witnessed. Peter Sengl's works in this exhibition were full of colours, most
often than not posed one or many cats, and/or one or many female figures. The
female figures were, most often than not, quite sexual in their depiction. But
besides these obviously striking features, there were other recurring elements
such as screwed on human bodies, impressions of already existing paintings such
as Frida Kahlo's self-potraits and so on. Forgive me if my description reads
premature, but that's only for those unfamiliar with (Peter) Sengl's works.
Those of you that already know his works, you know what I am talking about,
perhaps in better vocabulary.
His works, on a first impression, seem to derive
a lot out of popular culture, but on a closer look, you saw that they were
often portraits of his muse and his partner, Susanne and daughter Deborah
Sengl. The paintings were loud, filling up the airy spaces of ART SPACE stift millstatt,
making their presence felt. The strokes were bold and raw, choice of colours
unabashed. The man himself being quite similar, not hesitating to speak his
mind, while also leaving the works open for the viewers' interpretation and
reflection. At 72, having painted practically all his life, his words were an
insight into an artist's life – quite full of contradictions, creating works
from a space where no one else can really have a peak into other than speculate.
The event opened with a piano performance by Tonc
Feinig, whose engagement in his playing was remarkable.
This performance led
onto a theatrical reading of a piece of text written by Andrea K Schlehwein,
performed by Reinhardt Winter in a hilarious yet simple fashion, opening up the
various questions Sengl's works invoked among the audience.
The reading was followed by a dance duet
choreographed by Andrea K Schlehwein titled
“#withmyheadintheskyandfreshairinmybrain”, performed elegantly by two artistes
of NETZWERK AKS - Andrea Maria Handler and Arnulfo Pardo Ravagli. This work was
created in a span of 2.5 days and ran for 15 minutes. The performers embodied
several elements of the paintings, rather fluidly, each of them wearing face
masks of a cat and a human. The dancers moved around in space in a sensual sort
of a way, bringing the paintings to life, making their contents real and
palpable. Towards the end of the performance, the way I looked at the paintings
was transformed forever, leaving me wondering about alive bodies and what they
bring in themselves.
The event moved on to the breakfast and
interaction with the crowd. The buffet was elaborate and delicious, all
prepared and laid out exclusively by the galerist Eleonore Schäfer, Andrea and her team. The
entire morning was a social but also an intimate experience – of being together
with people in a room, of opening ourselves to works of art, of being led
through
them with music, movement and text, of taking time to sense and reflect
on this experience with one another.
Different things that normally belonged in
separate boxes moved into one another seamlessly.
This also gives me a deeper understanding of
Andrea's format of working. Becoming familiar with her works for a little over
two years now, it is fascinating for me to observe how she seamlessly flows
between genres of arts, connecting one thing to another, creating her own
signature of works. Her works belong to no
category, rather they are a category
on their own. As an artiste and a creator myself, I see Andrea's works as a
reassurance I need sometimes to take the creative risks that my work might
demand, without wanting the safety of a definition or a fixed form.
In der experimentellen Begegnung von Tanz und Multimedia
Kunst taucht im Verlauf der Performance eine vielschichtig sich stetig
wandelnde Umgebung auf, die sich als Realität behaupten möchte, in der Themen
wie Täuschung und als selbstverständlich angenommene Voraussetzung umkreist
werden. Körper, Raum und Bilder changieren im Dialog, wirbeln auf, setzen das
Reale und das Virtuelle in Kontrast zueinander und zeigen im Vorgang der
Transformation die gegenseitige Verflechtung auf.
In der experimentellen Begegnung von Tanz und Multimedia
Kunst taucht im Verlauf der Performance eine vielschichtig sich stetig
wandelnde Umgebung auf, die sich als Realität behaupten möchte, in der Themen
wie Täuschung und als selbstverständlich angenommene Voraussetzung umkreist
werden. Körper, Raum und Bilder changieren im Dialog, wirbeln auf, setzen das
Reale und das Virtuelle in Kontrast zueinander und zeigen im Vorgang der
Transformation die gegenseitige Verflechtung auf.
