Von Isabelle Thul
With all exhibitions, vernissages and residencies cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, it comes as no surprise that young artists in particular are suffering from the current crisis. Teaching and, above all, the social environment at art academies have also been severely restricted for months. Knowing that tours had also been cancelled or presented online, the curators of Berlin’s re|space gallery decided to offer a presentation platform for young artists in the form of an open call exhibition combined with a virtual online tour to give students and graduates more visibility for their work.
Through an open call, which was organised with the help of professors from the University of the Arts, Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin, HBK Braunschweig, HFBK Dresden and Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle (Saale), re|space gallery invited students and recent graduates from academies and universities to participate in the last exhibition of the year. The curators at re|space gallery were very impressed by the high quality of the applications to the open call, and 19 up-and-coming illustrators were selected for the exhibition entitled Marking Territory.
The exhibition Marking Territory, which revolves around contemporary illustration, is presented as a gathering of established and young artists. In addition to the successful applicants from the open call, the established illustrators Ofra Amit, Daniel Stolle, Leo Kaplan, Georgi Senchenko and Alexander Daniloff are also exhibited. However, it was important to the curators of the exhibition not to create a juxtaposition between ‘young’ and ‘established,’ but rather to present the broad field of contemporary art. Works by illustrators from various countries around the world, from Israel to Colombia to South Korea and Italy, will be on display.
The young illustrators featured in the exhibition Marking Territory assert themselves with diverse materials and new forms of illustration. Going beyond classic book illustration, the works on display range from abstraction to cartoon illustration. The illustrators use a wide variety of media, from pencil and ballpoint pen drawings and oil and acrylic paintings to digital drawings, screen prints and even sculpture. The connecting element between the diverse works is the fundamental aspect of storytelling in illustration.
While the opening of Marking Territory was planned for 17 December 2020, it has now had to be postponed until February 2021 due to the new lockdown conditions.
However, curious art lovers can already visit the exhibition virtually in the 3D tour created by Art@Berlin (see link below) and contact the re|space gallery directly if they are interested in purchasing.
Participating illustrators:
Juliana Toro @xxixvxixxv
Sebastian Kelemer @sebastiankelemer
Aline Schwibbe @alineschwibbe
Malou Großklaus @maloukipperart
Yves Haltner @yveshaltner
Dayeon Auh @a_dayeon_
Leonie Behrens @gutebutter
Jiang Ailun @allenjohn1989
Paula Krause
Olga Bankova
Emily Brockmann
Karen Exner @karenkex
Rojo & Kreß @rojo_kress
Anna Dokuchaeva @annananra
Sina Metzkow @sinart_
Maxim Krioukov @jingah_official
Leonardo Alessandro Alliata @stressinthejaw
Maria Chepisheva @art.mariachepisheva
Sophie Lazari
Georgi Senchenko
Leo Kaplan @lev.kaplan
Daniel Stolle @daniel_stolle
Ofra Amit @ofra.amit
Alexander Daniloff @alexanderdaniloff
