Magic + Love x Art2 | Group Exhibition | Berlin

Magic Beans
February 17 – March 19, 2017
curated by Larissa Kikol

The square root of “magic” plus “love” multiplied by “art squared” is an amusing equation that allows one to contemplate artworks that conjure the unknown. Traditionally magic was, in essence, a transformation — taking something less valuable and making it remarkable. The works in this group exhibition are infused with a cathartic spirit and vision of the universe that is expansive, always in motion and open to mystery. The message embedded in the tongue-in-cheek formula, that is the exhibition’s title, suggests that the artist’s role is to find inspiration in the unusual and to create enigmatic and thought provoking works. Artists are everyday shamans, their strategy and artistic process is to construct riddles out of the world.

We are pleased to present a pop-infused, hopeful, post-apocalyptic painting from Abetz & Drescher; a new large scale diptych painting by Giuseppe Gonella portraying a mystical coven of witches dancing in long red cult-like dresses; a colorful painting from Daniel Lannes that expressively depicts the movement of spirits and figures; a painting from Lorella Paleni is at the intersection of geometry and figuration, representing an alternate reality that is an extension of the subconscious; Sadie Weis fuses found objects, natural elements and scientific media to question our relationship with the unknown; Timo Klöppel’s sculpture reminds us of the alchemic process of re-purposing objects; Erik Nieminen’s painting deconstructs reality in order to remake it according to a logic inherent in the act of painting; Stefano Bosis depicts dreams and reality that constantly intertwine in bursts of color and emotion; and Frederike von Cranach exhibits a new sculptural work that explores interconnectedness. Professor Dr. med. Johannes Albes is a professor for cardio surgery in the medical school Brandenburg and principal consultant in the division of heart surgery in the heart center in Brandenburg. With his colleagues he often discusses his cases with the aid of sketches on the whiteboard. For this exhibition he traced the steps of his heart surgeries. The surgery shall be understood as sculpture, accurate, elegant and aesthetic work which is also saving lives. The proceeds of his drawings will be donated to a hospice for children. A great work of art is always also a good magic trick, one that is surprising, intriguing, seductive and makes us curious to learn more. Art provokes our world view and opens up new perspectives.

Magic Beans presents artists whose works trigger an overwhelming gut feeling, at first eclipsing their conceptual frameworks. We want to invite the viewer to experience the exhibition as they would a magic show – always inquisitive and expecting the unexpected. The curator Larissa Kikol holds a PhD in Art History, her thesis deals with the immature and infantile in modern and contemporary art. Currently working as an art critic for magazines, such as art and Die Zeit, she was awarded the first prize of the C/O’s international competition for art critique in 2016. She lives and works in Berlin and Marseille.

Magic Beans / Auguststraße 86, 10117 Berlin / +493025766055 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / www.magicbeans.gallery