Art

Jiri Svestka Gallery

Part of the Gallery Weekend in Berlin

3 of May – 14 of June, 2014

Text and Pictures by Maria Nitulescu

Jårg Geismar, an international artist, was born in Gotland, Sweden of German parents. He hasbeen visually creative from an early age.

He has been living, travelling, and exhibiting all over the world, in internationally renownedmuseums and institutions, including, the PS1 Contemporary Art Center, New York;; the Museu deArte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro;; the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo;; the National Museumof Modern Art in Kyoto;; the Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art;; the Sagacho Exhibit Space,Tokyo;; the MAC – Musée d’Art Contemporain, Marseille;; the Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona;; theGöteborgs Konsthall;; the Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm;; the Kunsthalle zu Kiel;; the StiftungMuseum Kunstpalast, Dusseldorf;; the Kunsthalle and the Kunstverein für die Rheinlande undWestfalen, Dusseldorf;; the Kolnischer Kunstverein, Cologne;; and the Kunst-­ undAusstellungshalle der BRD, Bonn;; among others.He has also participated in various international events, including the 1993 Venice Biennial(Turkish Pavilion), the 1998 Cultural Capital of Europe Stockholm, the 7th Venice Biennale of

Interview with Jårg Geismar – “Feeling my own blood”May 21, 2014

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Architecture (Swiss Pavilion) in 2001, the ITCA – International Triennial of Contemporary Art inPrague in 2008 and most recently the 2013 Cultural Capital of Europe Marseille-­Provence.

I had the pleasure to meet Jårg Geismar at Jiri Svestka Gallery Berlin, in order to conduct aninterview with such a fascinating artist:

How was your childhood? Did it have any strong influences on your artistic work?

My childhood was a paradise. Growing up as a German on a small island called Gotland, inSweden. I was close to nature and surrounded by water. We moved back to Germany when I wassix years old. I still return there every year since I left.

One of the strongest influences on my life and work until now was at the age of 2. Almost everyday I was sitting next to my Swedish aunt, Svea who worked as a telephonist. She wasconnecting people/calls with cables in the old way. I was watching her switching cables on aswitch board. It was fascinating for me how she made people communicate with each otherthrough a cable. At the same time, I was cutting out figures and objects from magazines andnewspapers, and that was the start of many of my artworks and exhibitions you see today.

When did you first have the first consciousness of being an artist?

The first consciousness of being an artist occurred around at the age of ten. I’ve been visuallycreative from an early age. I was questioning myself about future and about what I wanted to do. Iwas thinking it was the best to “continue to do”… As long as people could understand me while Iwas talking with my hands and feet (when my parents decided to move back to Germany I onlyspoke Swedish). This was turning into my visual language, into a way of communicating withother people.

You’ve been living in different places around the world. How has this influenced your

work and where is the place you call “home”?

All these places had big influences on me as a person and my work. Where I was born (Gotland,Sweden), where I studied (Düsseldorf, New York City), lived and travelled in Asia, Africa, and allover Europe. I spent six years in Tokyo and during that time I travelled extensively within Asia. Theworld fascinates me, discovering and experiencing different cultures and ways of life, or even thefood they eat. I get very excited, like a child finding a new toy when I discover new materials ortechniques to create my work, or stroking new ideas or subjects. All these experiences definitelyhave a strong impact on my work and life.

Düsseldorf is my base, where I like to come back to and like to leave again and again.

Do you think is very important to be eclectic as an artist?

I think people should be free to express themselves and choose what they would like to do. Artistswork in very individual ways. I get ideas and inspiration from daily life, my experiences and history.I have chosen to work freely with diverse topics, materials and mediums, which you can calleclectic. It is me and who I am.

Some visitors in my exhibition think there are two or three artists in the show and they getsurprised when they see it’s just one artist. My book, “THE RED LINE” brings all of this together-­ Ipose my artworks in eight different topics where they link, connect and bridge among each other.

You use so many mediums to express yourself as an artist, which one most defines you?

I never regarded a specific medium as appropriate. The mediums I use develop from the topic Iwork with. Drawing is what I like to do every day, as well as living and working with space andmaterials that have always been my strongholds. My book, “THE RED LINE” gives a very goodoverview of different kinds and types of mediums I work with-­drawing, installation, sculpture,painting, photo, film, performance, and connects them through different topics.

When I first entered the gallery Jiri Svestka Berlin, your artworks gave me a strong

emotion, maybe that’s the meaning of “Feeling my own blood”?

You got the point: “you felt the atmosphere, emotions and the works” it is like feeling your ownblood. I do this in all my exhibitions, to name some: “WE MEET IN:::” (2000) in the Museum of Artin Yamaguchi, Japan, “joint venture” (1992) at PS1 Museum New York, “THE OPTIMISTS” (2003)at Liljevalchs Konsthall Stockholm, Sweden, “LOW BUDGET”(1997) Kunsthalle Kiel, Germany orjust recently “from_me_to_you” (2013) at MAC Museum of Contemporary Art Marseille, France.

Exhibition projects have a special dimension … What’s the story behind this exhibition

and especially behind the glass paintings? What inspired you to use the transparency of

the glass in such a way?

The topic of this work is from daily life. Transparency is a very important subject in oursociety today. It has started a long time ago, wishing to work with transparent materials-­ lettingeveryone to see through all layers and processes. There is nothing to hide or being secretive. Istarted with transparent foil, tracing paper, cellophane bags and later with glass. I like the flexibilityof cellophane and the stubbornness and fragility of glass. Through this experiment anddevelopment I found new materials and combinations which gave me the exact dimension Iwanted to express.

What are your next exhibition projects?

“Once upon a dream” at TZR Galerie Kai Brückner in Düsseldorf. The opening is on 5th ofSeptember, 2014 during the Season Opening. I will take the visitors on a trip through of dreamsand fantasy. Come and enjoy!

Maria Nitulescu

Maria is an Art and Cultural Connector through her nature and education. She studiedFine Arts for over 15 years in Romania and in 2011 she moved to Milan, Italy. After

graduation, she chose to continue her studies in Brera Academy and take her communication skillsto another level-­completing a Master's Degree in Creative Communication for Cultural Heritage.Having lived in multiple cities across Europe she is now happy to call Berlin home.