absalon at KW institute for contemporary art in berlin

absalon
KW institute of contemporary art in berlin
november 28th, 2010 to february 20th, 2011

self-titled exhibition 'absalon', is the first comprehensive solo exhibition of israeli artist absalon since 1994.
covering all floors at KW institute of contemporary art in berlin, the show presents absalon's 'cellules',
uniting works from the series 'propositions d'habitation' (1989-1992) and the installation 'dispositions' (1990),
while also showing previously unexhibited models, drawings, paintings and video works.



absalon
cell n° 4, 1991
wood, cardboard, white paint
147 x 180 x 247 cm
collection capc musée d’art contemporain, bordeaux


absalon was fascinated by spaces which he reworked in systematic and successive ways with questions
around essential human activities and geometric forms (the rectangular, the square, the triangle and the circle)
being his points of departure. it was in 1987 that he began to empty out the spaces he found, before eventually
restructuring and refilling them with the help of simple forms. these test assemblies - further developed by
means of objects, drawings, photographs and films - came full circle in absalon's 'cellules': individualized,
ascetic and contemplative living units based on the measurements of the artist's own body, which are neither
purely sculptural nor architectural in the classic sense.



absalon
cell n° 2 (prototype), 1992
wood, cardboard, white paint
250 x 430 x 220 cm
ausstellungsansicht / exhibition view, kunsthalle zürich, 1997
photo : a. troehler, zürich



absalon
cellule no. 5, 1992
wood, cardboard, paint, neon lights
405 cm, ø 240 cm
photo: heinz preute, vaduz



absalon
proposals for a habitat, 1992
wood, cardboard, white paint, neon light
180 x 270 x 370 cm
collection of centre pompidou, paris
courtesy galerie chantal crousel
photo: florian kleinefenn


the white clusters of 'propositions d'habitation', illuminated by neon light seem to be architectural studies
whereas 'dispositions' installed in KW's attic and covering more than 100 square meters,
resembles a thorough cataloguing of his formal vocabulary.



absalon
proposals for a habitat, 1992
wood, expanded polystyrene, cardboard, plaster
100 x 320 x 390 cm
© d.r./cnap



absalon
disposition, 1990
wood, cardboard, white paint, 6 neon lights, 40 elements
140 x 928 x 1028 cm
110 qm / square meters
collection frac languedoc-roussillon
photo: richard decker


absalon was born in 1964 in ashdod, israel.
he relocated to paris in 1987 where he would live and work until his premature death in 1993.
in only a few short years, he created an oeuvre of complexity and consistency,
which - although unfinished  never appears fragmentary.