Bielefelder Kunstverein proudly presents the first major solo exhibitions in Germany of the artists Lili Reynaud-Dewar (*1975) and Thomas Julier (*1983).
Over the last few years, Lili Reynaud-Dewar has developed a complex body of work, which revolves consistently around the concept of cultural identity. Drawing on her family history, her works focus on contrasting individual ways of seeing with social stereotypes. She constantly illustrates this aspect of her work by using historical positions, together with various avantgarde movements, from 20th century art history and sub-cultures. For her installations and audiovisual performances, the artist develops concepts for staged spaces from elements she herself designs for the theatre and from her own paintings and costumes. Borrowing formally from film, theatre, design and pop music, her works frequently culminate in an allegorical, partly archaic multiplicity of voices.
Lili Reynaud-Dewar's presentation at Bielefelder Kunstverein centres on most recent project, "Cléda's Chairs" (2010). At the heart of the work is a 20-minute video by the artist, which links together various temporal as well as thematic narrative strands. Three disparate stories are interwoven: in this process, the Greek trilogy of tragedies, "Oresteia", meets modern Africa from the 1960's/70's and is combined with a contemporary reference from the French provinces.
Lili Reynaud-Dewar lives and works in Paris. Last year her works have been shown in solo exhibitions such as Antiteater (Frac Champagne Ardennes, Reims) and Interprétation (Kunsthalle Basel). Beside she has contributed to numerous international group exhibitions, such as The Morality Series (Witte de With, Rotterdam, 2010), Elles@centrepompidou (Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2009), Kehraus- Abschied von stabilen Wänden (Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster, 2009) or When Things Cast No Shadow (5th Berlin Biennale, Berlin, 2008).
Thomas Julier presents new photographs, prints and objects. The possibilities offered by digital photography, image and graphics programmes as well as computerised production govern his pictures, objects and installations in space in a direct as well as a figurative sense. His works include motifs from art history and pop culture as well as the urban and advertising architecture of public spaces.
Julier understands the seriality of his works as a game with personal as well as other people's banks of images. In this process, the form, time and processes of artistic production gain a particular role. This means that some series of his work are painstakingly handcrafted, often in collective work with artist-friends like Cédric Eisenring or Kaspar Müller, and by using traditional artistic techniques like linocuts. Other series do, in turn, use the possibilities of digital production and machine finishing. In this way, Julier also endows minimalist works with their own poetic qualities. Motifs and methods merge into representation of our post-medial reality.
Thomas Julier lives and works in Zurich and Brig. He already contributed to national as well as international group exhibitions. Recently, Julier's works have been shown at CAPC Musée d'Art Contemporain de Bordeaux, Instituto Svizzero Milano, Fotomuseum Winterthur (Plattform 2009) or Kunsthaus Glarus.
Both exhibitions curated by Thomas Thiel
