MUNICH.- The Art & Space Gallery announces the opening of the exhibition with the works and first installations „Black Cubes Solos“ of the talented Munich artist Katharina Lehmann.

For her installation Black Cubes Solos, textures and ornaments from nature act as source of inspiration for the artist Katharina Lehmann.

With the space that is occupied by seven black cubes, the artist conveys the idea of the connection and interaction of all items, way and even individuals as part of a system, a microcosm. By choosing minimalist means of expression, she is yet giving importance to the most delicate nuances. From a distance, the observer only sees large, black, even, square surfaces, but the closer he gets, the more complex these objects become. The surface – on the one hand endless and chaotic, on the other hand as perfect as nature itself – is made of miles of intertwined yarn, forming the cubes.

The infinity of the line and the boundedness of the geometric form, chaos and system, nature and mathematic calculation – the artist is working with such opposing ideas. The cube is a closed space, isolated from the outerworld by its stable walls. And yet, the surfaces of the cubes let the observer have a look inside, meaning they imbibe the impact of the outerworld, they are not cut off from it. In the broadest sense it is a metaphor for today’s world, applicable to the single human being, the society, to every cultural entity. So in every system of today’s world, there is an unintentional or intentional impact of the single individual on its spatial environment and the other way round. Each cube literally holds an „inner voice“, being in the closed and in the visible space at the same time. Phrases, noises and sounds are filtered by the cube‘s walls as well as by the walls of the other cubes. The illusion of a discussion is formed, however, a harmonic communication and reflection is missing as it is often the case in the modern world. The cubes have a conversation with themselves, each inside itself without direct communication, they communicate indirectly. The form of the cube has a direct relation to the origins of the contemporary art. The idea of the White Cube had originally been thought to be a perfect showroom, where nothing is disturbing the perception of the art object. In such a case, Katharina Lehmann’s black cube is a kind of answer without challenge, it is the perfect exhibit.

On the other hand, considering the Russian cultural basis of the artist, the perception of the black cube is impossible without reference to the „Black Square“ by Kasimir Malewitsch, which was intended to be the absolut beginning of the art: no color, no form. But here form exists, and inside of it the space. The black color is destined to not distract from the basic idea. The main cube is huge compared to the others, at the same time it is the vanishing point of all the ideas of the artist. Chaos and structure, confusion and harmony.

Curator: Nadezda Voronina, art historian, MA