BERLIN.- Galerie Guido W. Baudach is presenting its eighth solo exhibition of new works by Markus Selg. Selg is one of the pioneers of digital art in Germany. Since the 1990s, the Berlin-based artist has been using the possibilities of the computer to create paintings, sculptures, videos and sounds; parts of a complete work that he likes to bring together in parcours-like, multimedia spatial installations. In recent years, he has increasingly transferred this approach to the theater stage in collaboration with theater director Susanne Kennedy. In the exhibition MIND IN THE CAVE, Selg now shows new painterly and sculptural works in the context of a walk-in installation that serves as a platform for his first virtual reality production I AM (VR). The purely virtual play, another cooperation with Susanne Kennedy, created in collaboration with Rodrik Biersteker and Richard Janssen, can be experienced exclusively through the use of virtual reality goggles and allows visitors to go through a journey that is as interactive as it is immersive, ultimately leading to a surprising destination.
As Markus Selg notes, "VR is not only a powerful technology of simulation, ... but a profound reflective tool about human perception and ego consciousness. Who am I? Who is this avatar with whom we identify as I? Do we exist in the physical world or do we exist primarily within the stories our brains tell themselves. Who or what is hallucinating these stories? How do we access a reality outside of our limited sensory perceptions? If we live in our own simulation, how can we interact with others? How do we distinguish between reality and simulation? Is there even a difference?"
Markus Selg, born 1974 in Singen, lives and works in Berlin. His works have been subject in numerous major exhibitions at home and abroad, such as Atelier E.B: Passer-by, Garage, Moscow (2020); I dreamed I was a house, Casino Luxembourg (2019); Parcours, Art Basel (2017); Primitive Data, De Hallen Haarlem (2015); Bilder in der Zeit – Sammlung Goetz im Haus der Kunst, Haus der Kunst, Munich (2014); Dystopia, CAPC musée d‘art contemporain de Bordeaux (2011); Captain Pamphile #3. Ein Bildroman in Stücken, Collection Falckenberg, Hamburg (2011); Spuren der Sonne – Eine apokalyptische Oper (Markus Selg, Jannis Kounellis, Werner Herzog), b-05, Montabaur (2009); HEAVEN, 2nd Athens Biennial (2009); Der Müde Tod, oder der Gang über die ekstatische Treppe, KAI 10 I Raum für Kunst, Dusseldorf (2009); Vertrautes Terrain, Aktuelle Kunst in & über Deutschland, ZKM, Karlsruhe (2008).
Since 2016, Markus Selg collaborates regularly with the director Susanne Kennedy in theater production and stage design i.a. I AM (VR), Theater Commons, Tokyo (2021); Oracle, Münchner Kammerspiele, Munich (2020); Coming Society, Volksbühne, Berlin (2019); Medea.Matrix, Ruhrtriennale, Duisburg-Nord (2016). In 2020, he was awarded the prestigious German theater prize Der Faust.
Due to current infection control regulations, the exhibition can only be visited by pre-booked appointment. Extended hours apply, Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can book your appointment by e-mail, by phone or independently via the corresponding registration tool. Pre-registration is obligatory, as is the wearing of a medical mouth-nose covering.
