DC Open: What to see in Cologne (Part 2)
Day 2 of gallery hopping in Cologne is intense. For today, I picked three worthwhile shows in the Komponisten-Viertel.
Seeing over 20 exhibitions in one day is no joke. But don’t worry, I’m here to give you an overview of the Cologne art scene so that you know what’s worth your time. In case you’re new here: You can read Part 1 of the DC Open Guide here.
ISABELLA FÜRNKÄS: Inner workings: Das fressende Zimmer
Remember how you used to build pillow fortresses as a child? The Memory House (2023) in the first room is similarly comforting (at first glance at least). Inside, electric outlets and a notebook made up of ceramics are draped in white bed sheets. A sketchbook peeks out. The outer shell of the house is full of images: naked cats, artworks, anatomic illustrations, product designs, porn.
Several drawings of messy beds bear titles alluding to the installation My Bed (1998) by Tracey Emin (Baby Boomer, British). Both artists put a spotlight on the intimacy, shame, and mess connected with one’s own bed, publicly displaying what is otherwise taboo.
Black watercolor paintings hang on a red thread like photographs in a lab. They outline ambiguous shapes: faces melt into ulcerations, brains dissolve into guts. Isabella (Millenial, German) paints fluid lines between reason and intuition as represented by the two organs.
More ceramic remotes with organic buttons are neatly displayed on a table and in a cupboard. Earthenware game boys are stacked up in a pharmacy cabinet. These remotes are everywhere. Little tools that give you control over what to see, what to skip, what to ignore. But the overall number of internet images spread across the show suggest that there is no escape from overwhelm and control is a soothing illusion. There is a longing for a time before visual and virtual overstimulation. A craving to reconnect with instincts.
Clages, through October 14, 2023, Brüsseler Str. 5, 50674 Cologne
Yana Tsegay: The Collection of Babylon Rage
“We mourn the passing of Babylon Rage” reads the text on a painting of an antique temple in turquoise hues of oxidized bronze. Although Babylon Rage sounds like a drag name, this fictional character was actually a rich collector, her art estate neatly arranged in the room. Her portrait drawn on a banner is surrounded by white roses on the ground. Acrylic boxes with rusty traces present ancient objects, swords, and pitchforks.
Yana’s (Millenial, German) staged funeral of an imaginary person and her collection are about more than just rich people and where they blow their money: Who gets to take objects of one community and put them under private ownership? Where do these “philanthropists” get their money from? Cultural institutions are often part of a never-ending cycle: Someone makes a fortune off exploiting a group, then they use that money to “support” that group, justifying their enrichment and framing their “generosity” as welfare. The rusty collection plates made out of artificial sugar in one part of the room allude to colonial exploitation for the sake of gaining the popular sweetener. A black fabric string separates the viewer from the immeasurably valuable objects, no matter if they belonged to your ancestors once. Isn’t there a huge museum in Great Britain that is entirely based on taking away other people’s heritage…?
Moltkerei Werkstatt e.V., until September 24, 2023, Moltkestraße 8, 50674 Cologne
Giuliano Sale: Hymn of Uncertainty
For Giuliano (Gen X, Italian), uncertainty is not just a feeling. It’s the way he paints. His portraits make you wonder whether you haven’t met them before: That might be George Washington’s white wig and knobbly nose in Landscape Head (2023), though it might be someone else. Glossy hair meets textured patches of color meets photorealist eyes staring into your soul. Perfectly sculpted skin clashes with cartoonish outlines of clothes. All is set against a more or less neutral background. Giuliano’s style of blurring natural faces with smeary figures reminds me of earlier Loribelle Spirovski (Millenial, Australian) paintings. How about a group show?
Some sitters are portrayed with personal objects, Black metal guitarist waiting to be inspired (2023) is sitting on a chair with their guitar. Bored and confused (2023) is a nude figure comfortably lying back with a bottle that might contain alcohol, which would explain the empty thoughtless speech bubble next to her face. It’s harder to find an explanation for the speech bubble in Talking Ass (2023) apart from the fact that this person for sure is double-cheeked up on a Thursday afternoon.
Galerie Rompone, until November 4, 2023, Brüsseler Straße 31, 50674 Cologne
I saw the shows during DC Open. Read the guide on what to see in Cologne's city center and get to know other galleries that participated on the DC Open website.
Thank you for reading! If you are in the mood for some gallery hopping, please let me know through a like, comment, or referral. :)
See you soon!!!
Jennifer
The Gen Z Art Critic