CSR.ART, in collaboration with Galerie Z22 and the international art book publisher DCV, invites you to the exhibition opening with official book launch of the art volume SUPERNATURAL BEINGS on Friday, 24 May 2024 at 7 pm. On display are expressively processed nude photographs by the artist duo GOTT&GILZ in a combination of photography and painting. The artists combine the genres of nude photography and painting in the form of an artistic ‘destruction’ of the original work and the interweaving of art historical quotations, thus creating new levels of meaning for the viewer to explore. Photographer Roman Gilz, who was voted one of the top 10 erotic photographers in Germany by art – Das Kunst Magazin in 2013, and painter Gott Gordan, who is credited with the ‘art of the drastic’, have formed the artist duo GOTT&GILZ since 2018. Their artworks provide an impetus to stimulate important discussions about gender roles, female body images and the right to sexual self-determination. Following the vernissage and book launch, the exhibition of the same name, which is being organised in collaboration with Berlin gallery Z22, can also be seen at CSR.ART at Friedrichstraße 69 until 8 June 2024.
Image above: GOTT&GILZ, Supper, 2023, Fine Art Print on photo paper, acrylic, 90 × 60 cm
The new publication of the art book SUPERNATURAL BEINGS thematises the female nude in a way that could provoke reflexive outrage at the explicitness of the images, if only there was this one level. However, GOTT&GILZ’s subtly provocative play with aesthetic conventions and taboos not only enriches the art scene, but also sparks important discussions about gender roles, body images and the right to sexual self-determination.
With their photo-paintings, GOTT&GILZ join this long tradition of men depicting naked women. They discuss the ‘male gaze’, which in feminist film theory is regarded as the director’s or screenwriter’s way of acting, with which women and the world in visual art and literature are depicted from a male, heterosexual perspective. The artist duo also makes explicit reference to Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Jackson Pollock and others.
It all began in 2015, when Hamburg-based photographer Roman Gilz received an unexpected message via Facebook. ‘Hello, I’m Gordan Nikolic. I admire your photos and want to destroy them’. What most people would have considered a shock or even a no-go marked the beginning of a fascinating artistic collaboration for both of them. Gordan began to alter, scratch and redesign Roman’s immaculate prints. The supposed ‘destruction’ turned into a creative development. This unconventional approach led to the creation of the pXXy PORN brand and inspired the artists to continue leaving their comfort zones and jumping between different artistic mediums. The pXXy PORN project continued to evolve over the years and eventually became what we know today as the artist duo GOTT&GILZ.
GOTT&GILZ’s method combines digital technology and traditional techniques to create works that are both unique and profound. From religion to sexuality, from power to money, their work does not shy away from controversy. They are willing to tackle taboos and question what is still considered acceptable in today’s society. Their works stand out due to their open approach to the depiction of eroticism. The artists have the courage to create an erotic epoch in the history of art that was previously absent due to social and intellectual restrictions. Works reminiscent of BDSM and fetish depictions, which otherwise tend to be hidden from view, are shown here with vigour and rigour. They take certain motifs out of the literal dirty corner and combine them with universally philosophical questions of humanity. GOTT&GILZ clearly show us that we live in a time and society that allows us to leave the conflict between lust and intellect behind us.
The upcoming exhibition at CSR.ART presents the latest work by GOTT&GILZ, ‘SUPERNATURAL BEINGS’, accompanied by an essay by Karina Chernenko. The book, hardcover with 202 pages in German/English, offers a deep insight into the work of an artist duo beyond the norm. It shows how GOTT&GILZ cloak provocative nudity in the guise of art-historical classics, thereby sparking important discussions about gender roles, body images and the right to sexual self-determination.
‘I don’t photograph models.
Roman Gilz
I photograph women.’
The choice of people depicted is also a message. As a photographer, Roman Gilz does not work with models as a matter of principle, but with ‘the woman next door’. This lends the photographs a naturalness and authenticity, and in this way offers the viewer an invitation to identify with and question their own, ideally free and self-confident approach to sexuality. In recognising the self-determination and self-empowerment of those depicted, the male gaze becomes the female gaze, the female view of herself.
THE ARTISTS + THE AUTHOR
Gott Gordan
Born Gordan Nikolić in Essen in 1968, studied communication design at Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences, known as GOTT GORDAN since 2013. Co-founder of the artist collectives ‘tausendmeister’ (1995), ‘GOLD’ (2001) and ‘GOTT&GILZ’ (2018). ‘All of Gordan Nikolić’s works are characterised by their allegorically encoded content and the need to get to the bottom of it,’ said art historian Carsten Roth in his opening speech for the bambiraptor exhibition at KV Bochumer Kulturrat (2015). Nikolić provocatively presents remembrance as the ‘art of drasticness’ in times of increasingly blunt floods of images and therefore calculates a reception as a tasteless, sexist or politically incorrect treatment of sensitive topics.’ An art that does not always make it easy for viewers, as Jürgen Boebers-Süßmann, cultural editor of the WAZ, also states: ‘These pictures would have a hard time in public museums. And yet they are challenging and disturbing. This artist won’t leave us alone. Scars are scratched with smug relentlessness until they gleam with blood.’
Roman Gilz
Born 1970 in Otterndorf, Lower Saxony. Trained as a photographer with Wulf-Eike Naumann in 1988. Freelance photographer and cameraman since 1992, including in his own photo studios in Hamburg. 2012 Foundation of the advertising agency Gilz-Art UG. 2013 Roman Gilz is voted one of the TOP 10 erotic photographers in Germany by ‘art – Das Kunst Magazin’. 2018 he founds the artist group ‘GOTT&GILZ’ with Gordan Nikolić aka Gott Gordan. His work has been exhibited internationally and he is known for his contributions to erotic photography. He has been the director of the virtual NFT Museum Hamburg since 2020 and has been presenting his works at the Breidings Garten gallery in Soltau since 2023. Gilz is also musically active.
Karina Chernenko, Author
The author Karina Chernenko studied art history and comparative cultural and religious studies at the University of Marburg. She began her professional career as a freelance art historian and art educator for museums and galleries. In 2019, together with her mother, the art historian Anjelika Spöth, she founded the platform KUNST + kaviar, which is dedicated to democratised art education.
WHEN?
Opening + Booklaunch
Friday, 24. May 2024, from 7 pm, the artists are present
Music Acts:
LEHO (Rap)
CHAARLZ (Rap)
COLEMAN (DJ)
Exhibition period
Saturday, 25. May to Saturday, 8. June 2024
open Tue – Sat 11 am – 7 pm
WHERE?
CSR.ART
Friedrichstraße 69 (in the QUARTIER 25)
10117 Berlin-Mitte
