A Kassen & Thomas Fleron
It is a pleasure to invite you to the opening of two solo shows in
the gallery on Friday June 13th from 6-9 pm. The artist group A Kassen
exhibits in the main space and Thomas Fleron’s show ”Det fede Læskur”
is in the project space. Exhibition period is June 14th – July 19th.
A Kassen work with performativ installation and sculpture. Actions,
discretely part of the exhibition space, are characteristc of A
Kassen’s works. The actions may even be so discrete, they don’t get
noticed. But if they do get noticed, they contain strong elements of
humor and surprise. Once in a while, A Kassen perform the actions
themselves, but mostly they are performed by supernumeraries or even by
monstrous machines, constructed by A Kassen.
A Kassen’s works refer to the objectless, conceptual art of the 60s, to
performances and pop art. They examine and experiment with the borders
between art and non-art, as well as self invented systems that change
the functions of things within a given space. The works are absurd,
subtle and often very elegant due to their seamless adaption to their
context. In this sense, they form a critique of the institution and
draw attention to how we act and navigate in a certain context.
The exhibition consists of a large interventive and performative work,
which shall not be revealed here. A Kassen also present their new
artist book, ”Damaged by Water, Financed by Insurance”.
A Kassen are Christian Bretton-Meyer (b. 1976), Morten Steen Hebsgaard
(b. 1977), Søren Petersen (b. 1977) and Tommy Petersen (b. 1975). They
graduated last year from the Royal Danish Art Academy and have earlier
studied at Städelschule, Frankfurt. A Kassen have been selected for
LISTE 08’s official performance program and have recently exhibited at
Vega Basement (Copenhagen), at Brøndsalen (Frederiksberg) and
Gammelgaard (Herlev, DK). They will exhibit at Overgaden (Copenhagen)
in August, be part of the ”U-Turn Quadrennial” and Grafikernes Hus
(both Copenhagen) in September, Kunsthallen Brandts (Odense) in October
and will show solo at Brænderigården (Viborg) in the beginning of 2009.
The exhibition is supported by The Danish Art Council.
Thomas Flerion’s show ”Det fede Læskur” presents objects, drawings and
a cross stitched curtain with the text ”player 8000c”. His elegant and
tactile objects are reminiscences of ritual symbols from tribal
ceremonies, e.g. the barked cherry tree stick with inlaid sealskin
which hangs on the wall from a thread. The works are both hermetically
closed and interreferential, and yet they question historical and
political issues such as why a language is forgotten, a population
becomes extinct, a ritual is dropped. These questions are incorporated
in a mixture of acquired knowledge and personal experience.
A modern penis case, constructed as a sheath of leather with one
meter long fringes and an aluminum warship on top, is hanging on the
wall. Poetic inscriptions on the ship function as a contrast to the
humorous sheath and the references to boys’ toys, masculine trial of
strength, and war feverish display of power. The works’ decadent look
and choice of material comment on cultural and historical power
relations.
Thomas Fleron (b. 1972) graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Art in 2000.
