Was mit Kunst - Ein Podcast von und mit Johann König

... with Joana Vasconcelos In this episode of WAS MIT KUNST, Johann König is in conversation with artist Joana Vasconcelos. With a career spanning over 30 years and a huge variety of media, Joana Vasconcelos (b. 1971, in Paris) is a Portuguese visual artist recognised for her monumental sculptures and immersive installations. Her artworks are represented in major collections such as those of François Pinault, Louis Vuitton and the Rothschild Foundation, while her public artworks grace Jupiter Artland, the city of Paris or Waddesdon Manor. Present at São Paulo Biennial, Art Basel or Artgenève, for instance, she has exhibited four times at the Venice Biennale, was the first woman and youngest artist in Versailles and held important solo shows at Guggenheim Bilbao, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Uffizi Galleries. For a decade now, Joana Vasconcelos has developed a series of artworks inspired by the reflection upon the element of water and the sustainability of our planet. And for her presentation "Surrealist Bathroom", she created an old-style bathtub completely covered in plug holes, unable to contain water and, therefore, defeating the very purpose it has been created for. Completed with a shower head and a metal chain, it reminds us that water is a luxury we should treasure. A group of works belonging to various series - Showers, Washbasins and Urinals - in which Joana Vasconcelos adds colourful crocheted elements to household sanitary ware. Resorting to crochet, Joana refers to the intimacy of the domestic realm through its link to female labour at home. The colourful, soft and pliable fabrics contrast with the hard, sterile coldness of the surfaces they encounter. Through a disruptive process of transformation, the artist encourages a fresh look at these everyday objects. In the podcast, König and Vasconcelos speak about how she got into art and developed her visual language, the art of crochet, and the concept behind her dedicated booth in the showroom at KÖNIG GALERIE.

... with Emily Weiner In this episode of WAS MIT KUNST, Johann König speaks with painter Emily Weiner, whose exhibition TIME AND TIDE is currently on view at KÖNIG GALERIE. Emily Weiner’s paintings consider the art canon through a feminist and Jungian lens. By reconfiguring symbols that have been recycled throughout the history of art, her work questions how archetypal images are shared across generations – and how familiar symbols might be reordered to generate new, collective understanding. Weiner approaches each painting intuitively, and by working in many layers of paint, finds synchronicity in combinations of colors, forms, and symbols. She creates multimedia frames to further demarcate spaces of suspended disbelief in each of her paintings. In the podcast, König and Weiner speak about her artistic practice, her sources of inspiration, and about the exhibition TIME AND TIDE.

... with Erwin Wurm In this episode of WAS MIT KUNST, Johann König is in conversation with artist Erwin Wurm, whose exhibition PHANTOMS is currently on view at KÖNIG GALERIE. Wurm’s oeuvre comprises sculptures, photography, video, performance, and painting. His works often involve everyday objects such as cars, houses, clothing, luxury bags, and food products, with which he ironically comments on consumerism and capitalist mass production. Wurm gained widespread popularity in the 1990s with his “One Minute Sculptures”. Museum pedestals are displayed and left devoid of any work so that the audience can take the place of the sculpture for one minute, according to the artist’s whimsical instructions. With this ironic yet radical gesture, Wurm democratizes and completely rethinks the classical concept of sculpture, traditionally associated with the weight of the material and its solidity over time. In the podcast, König and Wurm speak about the artist’s career, the idea of Wurm’s “One Minute Sculptures”, and his exhibition, PHANTOMS, on view at KÖNIG GALERIE.

... with Yussef Agbo-Ola In the newest episode of WAS MIT KUNST, Johann König speaks with the artist and architect Yussef Agbo-Ola. In his practice, Agbo-Ola addresses artistic, architectural, and anthropological issues by creating experimental spaces, such as pavilions, that reorient our perception of ecosystems and geological relationships. Beyond the design of such spaces, his artistic practice also includes photography, performance, sound, and text. Agbo-Ola studied fine art at the University of the Arts in London and then architecture at the Royal College of Art. He has realized art and architecture projects for institutions, including the United Nations. His work has been exhibited in prestigious institutions and shown in major exhibitions, including the Institute of Contemporary Art in London, the Serpentine Galleries, the Sharjah Architecture Triennial in the United Arab Emirates, the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, and the Tai Kwun Arts Center in Hong Kong. In the podcast, Johann König and Yussef Agbo-Ola speak about blurring the lines between art and architecture, the artist’s sources of inspiration and his exhibition at Schering Stiftung.

... with Arne Quinze In this episode of WAS MIT KUNST, Johann König talks with the artist Arne Quinze. Arne Quinze is a Belgian contemporary artist, painter and sculptor. His work involves everything from small drawings and paintings, medium-sized sculptures to massive installations. Quinze was born in Belgium in 1971 and currently lives and works in Sint-Martens-Latem, a town near the Belgian city of Ghent. His early career in the 1980s was as a graffiti artist. He always questioned the role of our cities and started his search for cities to become open air museums. His work quickly evolved from Street Art to Public Art with recurring themes such as social interaction, urbanization and diversity. In the podcast, they speak about Quinze's approach to art, which is based on a close connection with nature, how his practice has evolved from graffiti to painting and sculpture, and his upcoming exhibition coinciding with the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia.