Exhibition

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October, 16th - November, 1st 2009

From the 16th of October to the 1st of November, works ranging from drawing, graphic prints, painting and monumental mural collages to graphically inspired 3D-illustrations, book art and animation were shown at Illustrative 09. With more than 60 artists from all around the world, Illustrative brought together an inspiring cornucopia of visual contemporary culture in the Villa Elisabeth located in the heart of Berlin.

Illustrative showcased an international scene of artist-designers, whose works have been inspired by subculture movements like comic and graffiti as well as by applied arts like illustration and book art. The exhibition explored the merging of infinite materials and techniques in widely unprecedented combinations – e.g. the latest development, where illustration and graphics are translated into the third dimension, or new narrative strategies in 3D-animation.

Illustrative 2009 showcased a new generation of successful artists, whose works unfold vitality of illustration and graphics. It demonstrated how unrivalled craft and visual trends merge into autonomous aesthetics.

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10th July - 3rd November 2009

It’s not easy to escape the glitz and lure of celebrity magazines and popular culture, especially when living in the glamorous world of Los Angeles. Erik Mark Sandberg critically comments on this world by highlighting the influences of the pop-industry in his controversial portraits. The „Hairy Children“ play among flower still lives at Johanssen Gallery from 10th July to 30th September, 2009.

Sandberg draws his ideas from his daily environment. Random observations, reports in the media or a collection of personal photos and snapshots inspire him. His works comment on everyday life; they approach their subject with subtle humour and flashy colours, always leaving room for interpretation.

Sandberg compares his practice to mathematical experiments. He combines the most different images – photographs, screen prints, painting, and digital works – makes them overlap and takes them away again to find an equation that works.

Erik Sandberg’s life is as diverse and experimental as his art. The former child actor, certified motor mechanic and graduated artist received several medals from the “American Society of Illustrators“ for his illustration work and teaches printmaking at the universities in Pasadena and in Northridge, California.

Opening: 10th July 2009, 7pm

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April 17th - June 4th, 2008

17th March - 2nd April 2009

Christian Montenegro’s striking images are a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Their plane, symmetric composition and highly reduced shapes are reminiscent of expressionist woodblock prints. Their topics are also often traditional – his books published by Gestalten Verlag illustrate the book of Genesis and the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Yet Montenegro’s illustrations are truly contemporary: digital works with vivid colours and style-defining forms.

Montenegro studied illustration under Alberto Breccia for five years as one of the last disciples of the renowned Argentinean comic artist. From 2002-2006 Montenegro taught morphology at the Graphic Design department at the University of Buenos Aires. Currently the 36-year-old concentrates mainly on the illustration of publications and advertisements, as well as multiple other ventures.

His solo show at Gallery Johanssen was the first exhibition of the Argentinean artist in Germany. In Europe his work has been featured at Illustrative 2008 in Zurich, where he won the Young Illustrator Award 2008. He has also participated in shows in London and various other cities across France, Spain and Switzerland. Solo exhibitions of Montenegro have taken place in Buenos Aires and Barcelona.

Opening night: 17th March 2009, 7:00 pm

16th January - 15th March 2009

United in their long tradition in crafts, glass and iron still could hardly more oppose one another. One exemplifies fragility and transparence; the other metallic strength. Swedish artist Jan Lambert Kruse playfully uses these oppositions to create his fantastic glass objects.

Relying on the most basic shapes of the materials, his organic sculptures remind of natural phenomena. In “Milky Way”, a swirl of frosted glass bulbs lined up on spiralling metal threads flows in the air. It is surrounded by multicoloured spheres, imitating an imaginary universe. While in this piece the metal plays a supporting role, more complicated forms like the bubbly “Cocoon”-series shape the glass with a cage made of iron threads. The glass is frozen just as it begins to expand, displaying the restricting forces of metal.

Jan Lambert Kruse’s objects position themselves somewhere between applied and fine art. His working methods of welding iron and blowing glass are deeply rooted in traditional craft. Iron thread moulds, for example, have long been used for manufacturing lamps in Italy. However Kruse’s works often refuse any application. Some of his sculptures have lights inside, some don’t. What is for sure is that they capture a mystical atmosphere, paying tribute to the forces and secrets of nature.

Jan Lambert Kruse, born in Stockholm in 1962, studied metal craft at the Konstfack University College of Arts, Design and Craft in Stockholm. After his specialisation in glass and ceramics, he expanded his knowledge of the material at the Pilchuck Glass School in the US. Important shows include the International Exhibition of Glass in Japan, the Sassoulo Glass exhibition and several solo exhibitions in Sweden.

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18th Oktober - 26th Oktober 2008

From October 17th to October 26th ILLUSTRATIVE’s 4th forum of illustrative an graphic arts took place in the Zurich Messehallen. Conceived in Berlin in 2006 by Pascal Johanssen and Katja Kleiss, ILLUSTRATIVE is an annual forum, and the only one of it’s kind worldwide, that presents the latest inclinations which run the gamut of illustrative and graphic art in one exhibition. Illustrative's art is fresh, humorous, and easily accessible. The scope of work displayed in ILLUSTRATIVE ranges from psychedelic wall paintings to erotic neon pop art, while presenting monumental town views as well as quasi photo-realistic drawings. The special sensitivity to artistic quality and a mix of analogue and digital techniques give a special progressiveness to the illustrative arts. This has decisively influenced the development of contemporary art for some time. The latest ILLUSTRATIVE has expanded in comparison to previous years. It now includes a central exhibition, sectional exhibitions, temporary workshops, and a forum for presentations and conferences.

Opening: 17.10

See the Illustrative Berlin Photo Gallery --> www.illustrative.de/photos/zuerich-08/

12th September - 26th October 2008

Painter Tobias Mannewitz (born in Oldenburg in 1979) has been working as one of the few full-time German concept artists for computer games since 2003. For his main occupation he draws and designs virtual environments and characters, which have to work within a set game system and are then realised by 3-D modellers. Since 2002 Tobias Mannewitz has been living in Berlin. He studied in Halle, Leipzig and Potsdam. The series "Palast der Republik" (Palace of the Republic) is his first painting cycle in oil.

Opening night: 12 September, 2008, 7pm.

4th July - 4th August 2008

„Telephone Doodles …“ is a colloquial term for what the British call their random scribbling, which is so frequently produced absent-mindedly by telephone partners. Sometimes these telephone doodles are of surprising quality and artistic value. In his series „The Return of the Doodle“ Martin Haake celebrates this incidental scribbling as a artistic device and creates a buoyant, quirky universe full of allusions to pop culture, yellow press and daily soaps.

Martin Haake’s works arise from collections drowsing in the depths of his enormous archive. Haake collects almost everything he can get ahold of, thus his archive comprises yellow press magazines from the fifties, scrapped articles, old school charts and photo novellas. For Haake nothing seems to be too profane to be incorporated into his work. Inspired by movements like Art Brut and Dada, but also by artists like Adolf Wölfli and Nellie Mae Brown, Haake’s art has remained very British. He de- and reconstructs figures, bodies and spaces, and rearranges them according to his own will.

Martin Haake was born in Oldenburg in 1964. He lives in Berlin as a free-lancing illustrator. Among other prizes he has been awarded the ADC Award Germany as well as the D&AD in silver. His works have been published in Penguin Books, Royal Academy of Arts, Queen Elizabeth Hall and in the Boston Globe.

Opening: July 4, 2008, 7 pm

11th April - 31th May 2008

The exhibition of Olaf Hajek's work in Berlin is the result of a three-year-long artistic concurrent operation separate from his mandatory productions as an illustrator, which is now realised in his first itemized exhibition. Finally, as huge as Hajek's international success with his commercial illustrations may be, it remains difficult to capture the entire artistic cosmos of those illustrations, which slowly developed in the background and opened a door to a world of visions, freedom, sensuality and myth.

26th November - 9th December 2007

ILLUSTRATIVE PARIS is, together with ILLUSTRATIVE BERLIN, the leading art forum showcasing contemporary illustrative art. It took place in Paris November 29th to December 9th. Illustrative showcased more than 200 works of established European illustrators. The festival marks and displays exciting developments in contemporary illustration and graphics, as well as in other applied arts in the illustrational field, such as book printing and animation. ILLUSTRATIVE is a meeting point for the international creative community - collectors, designers, curators and art lovers. ILLUSTRATIVE PARIS transformed Parisian innovative galleries, ateliers, showrooms and shops to "Parcours illustrative".

Opening: November 29th 2007, 7 p.m.

Venue: Espace Commines, 17 rue commines, 75003 Paris

See the Illustrative Paris 07 Photo Gallery --> www.illustrative.de/photos/paris-07/

13th October - 4th November 2007

Tobias Mohr exposes his new 'Deutschlandbilder' in an exhibition in Berlin. His recent pieces are shown at gallery Johanssen. Mohr traces sentiments able to originate objects; he puts picture elements together in a new way and creates a particular illustration in pictorial space with his private image of Germany.

Opening: October 13th 2007, 7 p.m.

Venue: Galerie Johanssen, Choriner Str. 51, 10435 Berlin

31th August – 16th September 2007

ILLUSTRATIVE BERLIN is the leading exhibition showcasing contemporary illustrative art. Held in Berlin from August 31st to September 16th, Illustrative showcased more than 200 works of established European illustrators. The exhibition focuses on so called free, uncommissioned, daring and ambitious works of the new generation in the illustrative field.

The artists have already been celebrated as pioneers of a very diverse emerging scene, successfully established yet consequently ignored by representatives of the “classic” art. Illustrators, being in-between art and design, challenge both, experimenting with digital techniques and using new technologies and media.

Their stories are told not only from one, but many various narrators’ points of view. As a result, we witness the birth and rise of the old new art of illustration – “ contemporary illustrative art”. The ILLUSTRATIVE BERLIN is a forum for contemporary applied graphical arts and a meeting point for collectors, designers, curators and art lovers – all in all an existing event for the international creative community.

Opening: August 31st 2007, 7 p.m.

Venue: Villa Elisabeth, Berlin

21th July - 25th August 2007

As graphic artist an illustrator Roman Bittner lives and works in Berlin. With his collection "Ancient Cities of tomorrow" he works on his favourite project, the concept and design of utopian cities.

Opening: July 21st 2007, 7 p.m.

Venue: Galerie Johanssen, Choriner Str. 51, 10435 Berlin

Opening hours: daily from 9:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.

7th July - 25th August 2007

Andreas Töpfer shows his collection "Folgen" in Gallery Johanssen. Töpfer is an artist, illustrator and book designer and has, since 1996, produced an illustrated diary.

The priorities of his work are set within its serial character, who is shown in his small sized

"Farbtafeln", the modular graphical piece "Illukit" as well as the large sized series "A1".

Opening: July 7th 2007, 7 p.m.

Venue: Galerie Johanssen, Choriner Str. 51, 10435 Berlin

Opening hours: daily from 9:30 a.m - 7 p.m.

8th June - 30 June 2007

ILLUSTRATIVE exhibition at Stilwerk is a conceptual art event and showcases the works of a selection of the best European contemporary illustration.

Participating artists: Mario Wagner (D), Rusell Cobb (UK), Lars Henkel (D), Vania Zouravlev (RU), André Rössler (D), Pierre Le Gonidec (F), Tim Dinter (D), Louise Weir (UK), David Foldvari (UK), Jan Feindt (D), Roman Bittner (D), Finn Campbell-Notman (UK).

Opening: 8. June 2007, 7 p.m.

Venue: Designcenter Stilwerk, Kantstr. 17, 10623 Berlin

Opening hours: daily from 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.

12th May - 20th May 2007

The influences of digital techniques changed the art of illustration to "contemporary illustrative art" in which analogue and digital worlds come together in one picture. On the occasion of DESIGNMAi in cooperation with ILLUSTRATIVE 07, gut and schön shows awarded works of international known illustrators, who experiment with different techniques and visual codes. By this means, boundaries of fine arts are fathomed.

Participating artists:

Lars Henkel (D), Tim Dinter (D), Tim Rehm/ Tim Sürken (D), Tanja Kling (D), Frédéric Coché (F), Jens Harder (D)

Opening: May 12th 2007, 6 p.m.

Contemporary illustrative art @ gut und schön,

Torstrasse 140, 10119 Berlin

Opening hours: daily from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

28 April - 8 June 2007

Frédéric Coché shows pieces of his award-winning pornographic book "Ars simia naturae". He combines the iconography of Poussin and Gauguin with citations of 16th century etchings.

Céline Lachkar got her Diplome National Superieur d'Art Plastique just last year in Paris but is already considered as one of the greatest newcomers within the disciplines graphics, sculpture and media-installation. In her exhibition Céline Lachkar shows the new collection "Pollen".

Opening: April 28th 2007, 8 p.m.

9th March - 12th April 2007

For years Olaf Unverzart has observed the Alps. First and foremost, he observes how humans try to save their leisure environments from the forces of nature by building fences and spoiling the view with constructions of steel and/or concrete.

Opening: March 29th 2007, 7 p.m.

17th March - 27th March 2007

Pierre Le Gonidec studied the violin, theory of music and graphic design in Rochester and Paris. In his first Berlin exhibition, Le Gonidex shows new pieces from his collection "Moirae".

In room 1 the exhibition shows works of Tim Rehm and Tim Sürken, who are back in Berlin for the first time since the ILLUSTRATIVE. The international known 'graphical-duo' gained recognition with experimental works from the creative studio HORT in Frankfurt.

Opening: March 17th 2007, 7 p.m.

17th February - 10th March 2007

Tim Dinter is a very well known German comic artist. His works - comics, graphics and screen prints - create their own atmosphere of details, accuracy, and clean, clear lines, and sketches.

26th January - 18th February 2007

"I opened the screws of my electrical equipment and saw, how beautiful the inside is."

Ina Keckeis shows the most recent works in the context of her 'Circuit Board Project'. In miniature edition, tracks and networks are observed, conjuring associations with life forms in a city; rich in contrast and well-regulated.

Opening: January 26th 2007, 7 p.m.

26th January - 8th January 2007

On the occasion of the style fair Premium Exhibitions Berlin, Mari Otberg (JustMarriot) shows her fashion art in a three-day-long Showroom inside the rooms of the gallery.

28th September - 21 October 2006

Following up on the Illustrative Berlin 2006 and with a glance at the Illustrative Berlin-Paris in 2007 in Paris, we show recent works from the illustrators Lars Henkel, Mario Wagner and Wim Dinter.

Opening: September 28th 2006

25th August - 10th September 2006

The ILLUSTRATIVE is at the heart of exhibitions of contemporary illustration. As an annual forum of illustrative art, it shows - both in Berlin and Paris - current tendencies of contemporary graphics and illustration.

The ILLUSTRATIVE presents the most interesting items of the younger generation of illustrators. The artists are pioneers of a multifaceted scene that has established itself during the past years.

While they work as illustrators by order of renowned magazines, publishers or animation studios, they show their own distinctive signature in their free works and create exceptional pieces of contemporary art.

Opening: August 25th 2006, 7 p.m.

See the Illustrative Berlin Photo Gallery --> www.illustrative.de/photos/berlin-06/

29th July - 19th August 2006

Illustration is experiencing a renaissance at the moment. While photography dominated our visual culture the last decades, the specific poetic language of illustration attracts attention again. The exhibition "Illustrative Preview" presents in advance of the festival of illustration ILLUSTRATIVE BERLIN 06 in Berlin a first selection of works from the illustrators Olaf Hajek, Marin Haake, Jens Bonnke und Tanja Kling.

Opening: July 29th 2006, 7 p.m.

22th April - 30th June 2006

Born in Mainz in 1971, Matthias Rüppel innitiated his studies at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (Kurt Gebauer), after finishing an apprenticeship as mason. In 1998 Rüppel came to Harro Jacob at the UdK (Universität der Künste) Berlin. At this university he fathomed his possibilities of painting, drawing and plastic art while bringing his style to perfection.

Opening: April 22nd 2006, 7 p.m.

17th March - 15th April 2006

With his powerful, colourful pictures, the painter Jörg Kutschke, from Halle, sampled the gestures, mode and attitude of a presence whose basic principal is "the game". With his light hearted subjects and way of performing, Kutschke shows a generation whose inspiration is sought and found with the toys and parallel worlds of the sports and media industries.

Kutschke is not interested in a back-braking individualism, that longs for romantic ideals, but in archaic abandon, which is easy to come to terms with in the post modern consumption culture.

Opening: March 17th 2006, 7 p.m.

8th January - 16th February 2006

Nina K. Jurk studied painting at the Academy of Graphic Art and Book Art in Leipzig (Prof. Arno Rink) and has been 'Meisterschüler' of Prof. A. Rink in Leipzig. She focuses on the potential of painting; the potential of surfaces, and the potential of what lays under and behind it.

Opening: January 8th 2006, 7 p.m.

12th November - 30th Dezember 2005

26 year old Christian Awe, 'Meisterschüler' of Georg Baselitz, shows his newest works from his series "Verschwende Deine Zeit" (Waste your Time) in this solo exhibition.

Awe's works render homage to lost feelings - juvenile easiness, dawdeld away afternoons, carelessness, and jumping into an uncertain future at the deep end. Nothing is planned or scheduled, everything is possible and life is an adventurous crusade.

Opening: November 12th 2005, 7 p.m.

30th September - 5th November 2005

With "Fünf Diamanten" (Five Diamonds) the Gallery shows a group of five artists connected with the UdK  (Universität der Künste) Berlin. All of them attracted positive attention lately with their astonishing and exceptional works.

Emanating from the 'Meisterschülerklasse' of Georg Baselitz, the group with the painters Christian Awe, Martin Meyenburg and Matthias Rüppel, the sculptor Feng and the photographer Simon Menner, appear with a selection that sets a new course of younger art in Germany.

Opening: September 30th 2005, 7 p.m.

9th July - 27th August 2005

For the first time ever, the exhibition "Soccerart - Fußballkunst" puts together the most interesting pieces of art addressing the culture of soccer. It shows the entire range of this genre from "Fußballballett" (Soccer Ballet), which you can find in the illustrations of Tobias Mohr, to offish photographs of well known stadiums, taken by Markus Wendler.

 

Artists:

Tobias Mohr - Bettina Kresslein - Norbert Enker - Armin Ceric - Henrike Schulz - Markus Wendler

Opening: July 9th 2005, 7 p.m.