2014
Nicola Erni conceived her very first private show in 2014 based on the concept of the collection’s first two public exhibitions: “Zeitgeist & Glamour: Photography of the 60s and 70s” at the NRW-Forum in Düsseldorf, Germany in 2011 and “Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Photography of the 60s and 70s from the Nicola Erni Collection” in the Stadtmuseum München in Munich, Germany in 2017/2018.
She thus presented conceptually grouped photographs from the respective two decades, ranging from Ron Galella, Robert Mapplethorpe, Annie Leibovitz, Bert Stern, David Bailey, Lord
Snowdon, Diane Arbus and Jeanloup Sieff to Richard Avedon, Frank Horvat, William Klein, Nick Knight, Jim Lee, Peter Lindbergh, Helmut Newton, Franco Rubartelli, Tim Walker and others.
To emphasize the collection’s second focus – Contemporary Art – the exhibition showed paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Julian Schnabel as well as installations by Doug Aitken, Hans van Bentem, Elmgreen & Dragset, Carole Feuerman, Sylvie Fleury, Beatriz Milhazes and Tim Noble & Sue Webster.
Nicola Erni conceived her very first private show in 2014 based on the concept of the collection’s first two public exhibitions: “Zeitgeist & Glamour: Photography of the 60s and 70s” at the NRW-Forum in Düsseldorf, Germany in 2011 and “Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Photography of the 60s and 70s from the Nicola Erni Collection” in the Stadtmuseum München in Munich, Germany in 2017/2018.
She thus presented conceptually grouped photographs from the respective two decades, ranging from Ron Galella, Robert Mapplethorpe, Annie Leibovitz, Bert Stern, David Bailey, Lord
Snowdon, Diane Arbus and Jeanloup Sieff to Richard Avedon, Frank Horvat, William Klein, Nick Knight, Jim Lee, Peter Lindbergh, Helmut Newton, Franco Rubartelli, Tim Walker and others.
To emphasize the collection’s second focus – Contemporary Art – the exhibition showed paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Julian Schnabel as well as installations by Doug Aitken, Hans van Bentem, Elmgreen & Dragset, Carole Feuerman, Sylvie Fleury, Beatriz Milhazes and Tim Noble & Sue Webster.
Artists
Doug Aitken
Born 1968 in Redondo Beach, California, USA. Lives and works in Los Angeles.
Doug Aitken is an American multimedia artist. Defying definitions of genre, he works in an array of media, including photography, video, sound and sculpture. He is, however, best known for architectural interventions and installations which intervene on public spaces.
Aitken aims to reimagine the nature of what art can be and how we experience works of art and thus, the word. With a profound knowledge and understanding of the history of twentieth-century avant-gardes, experimental music, and cinema, Aitken’s art embraces a collaborative spirit across disciplines and shines a light on the condition of our media-saturated culture and society.
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Painter. Born 1960 in New York. Died 1988 in New York.
Jean-Michel Basquiat arrived at painting from the graffiti and hip hop scene. Within eight years he created an oeuvre as fascinating as it is complex. The art-historical canonisation of Basquiat’s works is as diverse as the interpretation of them is subjective. Basquiat was very receptive and well-read and alongside autobiographical references he incorporated into his art his vast knowledge: of the streets; of historical, sociocultural and art-historical erudition; of literature, music, comics, symbols, and visual references from TV and mass media.
Elmgreen & Dragset
Artist Duo. Michael Elmgreen: Born 1961 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Ingar Dragset: Born 1969 in Trondheim, Norway. Live and work in Berlin.
The artist duo has been working together since 1995 and examines objects in their historic, political, cultural and sociological context, questions the status-quo and re-contextualizes. By doing that, Elmgreen & Dragset walk the line between art and architecture, between installation and performance.
In 2003 they won the competition of the German federal government for a “Memorial for homosexuals persecuted under National Socialism”. Their international breakthrough came with “Prada Marfa” in 2005. The installation “The Collectors” was their contribution for the adjacent Danish and Nordic pavilions at the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009. Since 1997 they have exhibited regularly in key international museums.
Carole Feuerman
Sculptor. Born 1945 in Hartford, USA. Lives and works in New York.
Carol Feuerman, along with Duane Hanson and John D’Andrea, is considered one of the three pioneers of hyperrealist sculpture which emerged in the United States in the 1970s. She aims to create visual manifestations of the inner balance and beauty of women, though is perhaps best known for her large-scale sculptures of swimmers.
Sylvie Fleury
Born 1961 in Geneva, Switzerland, where she lives and works.
Sylvie Fleury works in an array of media ranging from photography to video, installation and performance. Her wit and critical view of the buying mentality of our time have earned her worldwide recognition. Fleury is known for her productions of glamour, fashion and luxury goods whereby often using readymade objects. Her sleek and alluring works at first glance seem like an affirmation of today’s consumerism, however, on closer inspection they reveal subtle commentaries on contemporary politics of gender, beauty standards and the ever-prevailing culture of consumption.
Beatriz Milhazes
Born 1960 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she lives and works.
Beatriz Milhazes is known for her colourful compositions in which she opposes folkloristic aspects of Brazilian culture with European Modernism. Her artistic practise and oeuvre are deeply rooted in her native Rio de Janeiro, it’s urban culture and surroundings, in particular its botanical gardens. In the mid-1990s, Milhazes adopted her idiosyncratic method of collaging paint by first painting a design onto a transparent sheet of plastic, then sticking it onto the canvas to then peeling it off, leaving the layer of paint. She repeats this process many times for each work, creating a multilayered yet flat picture in her signature vibrant style, featuring floral as well as abstracts elements, geometrical forms and rhythmic patterns.
Julian Schnabel
Julian Schnabel (American, b. 1951) lives and works between New York and Montauk (Long Island).
Schnabel studied art at the University of Houston (1969–73) and attended an Independent Study Programme at Whitney Museum of American Art (1973–74). After a first stay in Italy in 1977, Schnabel paid another visit to Europe a year later and was particularly inspired by the architecture of Antoni Gaudí in Spain. The idea for his renowened large-format paintings made with broken ceramic plates has its roots in that very first trip to Barcelona. Beside the so-called “plate paintings”, Schnabel experiments with a vast rage of materials and substrates to create his monumental works.
Hans van Bentem
Born 1965 in Den Haag, Netherlands. Lives and works in Amsterdam.
Hans van Bentem is known as a sculptor and creates sculptures, installations and chandeliers made of materials such as crystal, wood, porcelain, ceramic, and bronze. By means of various commissioned works, monumental art-in-architecture projects and numerous international exhibitions he has established himself firmly in the artworld, although operates entirely independently. He claims to be a romantic, primarily in search of beauty.
Tim Noble & Sue Webster
Installation artist duo. Born 1966 in Stroud and 1967 in Leicester, UK, respectively. Live and work in London.
Tim Noble and Sue Webster have worked together since 1996 and are considered part of the “Young British Artists” (YBAs). Inspired by the punk movement and questioning the status quo, their installation and sculptural work is essentially comprised of shadow works and light works. At their core, the works are about contrast: light versus shadow, form versus anti-form, art versus commerce.
