Michael sailstorfer – livie

For his first solo show at Livie Fine Art, Berlin-based artist Michael Sailstorfer presents a body of new paintings in dialogue with three sculptural.

For his first solo show at Livie Fine Art, Berlin-based artist Michael Sailstorfer presents a body of new paintings in dialogue with three sculptural motives which the artist has developed in his more recent practice. His practice subverts the context of materiality to reconfigure meaning through artistic transformation, which finds its most recent manifestation in the painting series titled Heavy Eyes.

The combination of these materials may initially seem in patent opposition, but this is by design. Presented in a traditionally formal and modernist manner, these works refer to a number of diverse art historical contexts while simultaneously creating new aesthetic and metaphoric positions. As a base, the use of lead brings many avenues for interpretation—its weight or heaviness, its toxicity, and the various ways it has been utilized throughout history.

In a particular opposition we have eye shadow, something soft and feminine, used to create or augment beauty. But in the same way cosmetics can highlight and enhance what is already present, they can also cover or mask the unwanted, providing the user with a means to present a more desired projection of self. The juxtapositions and contradictions in Heavy Eyes find their continuation in the three sculptures that complete the exhibition.

Michael Sailstorfer was born in in Velden, Vils, Germany.

Very Heavy Cloud at first sight seems to be a sculpture created with two inflated innertubes, an ephemeral and light object. On closer inspection, the work reveals itself as a bronze cast firmly secured to the ground by its own considerable weight. Brain is formed out of interwoven ropes, illustrating the complicated process of thinking, whereby the gravity of this process manifests itself in endless mind loops.

The third sculpture Factory is a playful metaphor for the transformative energy that is required for life. The oversized heart is activated by creating a fire in its orifice, thereby beginning the conversion of matter into energy. Michael Sailstorfer was born in in Velden, Germany. He currently lives and works in Berlin.