CONCEPTS AND CONSEQUENCES – Konstantin Bayer in Solo | Duration 时间 13th - 18th of June 2013 | Address 地址 Gallery Eigenheim/Choir at Fuzhou Road 19, Shanghai | Openingtimes 开放时间 Monday till Saturday 6pm – 02am | Contact 聯繫 konstantin.bayer@galerie-eigenheim.de
Global and regional events and relationships are subjected to concepts which have foreseeable consequences. In this exhibition Konstantin Bayer refers extensively on concepts, their interrelationships and consequences. The interaction between man and nature, between the system and the individual as well as the exploitative nature of self-realization, are building even a broad clamp for his content. Among other things he seeks the proximity to the Chinese culture, is formulating his own statements to Haikou verse, is freely adapting quotations by Lu Xun, expressing mental games in media installations, creating individual objects out of plastic mass products and gives the Shanghainese public an forum for an open word in video works. Despite the concern for opportunism some statements are simple, snappy and sometimes made without hesitation, even out of curiosity about the reaction. For simplicity and clarity, some of these statements act as a good starting point for discussion and understandable debate. A light-footed handling of the contemporary understanding of art, always mixed with a thoughtful critical connotation is thereby part of his work. Far-reaching ideas are sketched and formulated short, some philosophical questions addressed playful, perhaps to leave room for thoughts, perhaps the awareness of his own unconsciousness relating to global events.

At this point one can point out a body of work that, alleged and modified, focuses on the so called 10 biggest problems of China which were published in relevant media and part of the exhibition: the demographic change, social injustice, environmental problems, the treatment of minorities, corruption, housing bubble … to name just a few. Eventually these problems are not only China typical but of global nature … all of these „problems“ are consequenses caused by concepts of our zeitgeist which are at least easy to designate. So why should we not just grasp them on their roots? - is a question Bayer is asking. Even artistic concepts are subjected to inevitable consequences such as the question of success or failure, or clearly named in reference to China, freedom or imprisonment. Which artistic concepts are needed in an increasingly sophisticated world? Which consequences can be expected of the art in relation to current events? Much can not be said and done here in China. Let us at the end simply uncommented point out again the question about corellation of concepts and consequences in terms of art.