ART COLOGNE 2023

We are delighted to participate at Art Cologne 2023 for the first time. For that occasion, we are presenting a dialogue of sculptural works by the Argentinian artist Sofía Durrieu and Berlin based Michael Sailstorfer, with the polyvalent theme of tears as the focal point of the booth. Both artists have created substantial bodies of work examining the multiple interpretations and associations of this potent symbol of the human expression. In this context, Sofia Durrieu is showing “Lasso”, a bronze sculpture floating in space, created specifically for Art Cologne. This presentation is complemented by the new freestanding sculpture “Kopf und Körper Köln” by Michael Sailstorfer. Both artists will be present for the opening of Art Cologne on November 16.

Sofía Durrieu’s (*1980 Buenos Aires, Argentina, lives in Basel, Switzerland and Buenos Aires, Argentina) practice inhabits the interface between sculpture and performance. She examines the human body and the inherent tension between body and environment. Hereby, she reflects on daily routines, their interruption, and the resulting changes in perception, with the aim to bring forward a space for poetic resonance.
For Art Cologne, Durrieu has created a new group of bronze sculptures that reference various poses of lacrimation. “Lasso”, a new work developed for the Art Cologne presentation, has the form of tears streaming in the shape of a rope. It occupies a special place in the booth and the oeuvre of the artist, as it invites the involvement of two people interacting simultaneously with her sculpture. As in many of her works, the artist invites visitors to engage physically with her sculptures and thus become an integral part of the work.

Michael Sailstorfer (*1979 in Velden, Vils, Germany, lives and works in Berlin) reflects in his artistic practice on the fact that the fragile balance of our contemporary society – our social, political, ecological and cultural environment characterized by the finiteness of available resources – is subject to the constant threat of depleted energy sources. Both in a metaphorical and literal sense: Sailstorfer detaches various elements of the empirical world from the context of our everyday experience and presents them in formally precise sculptures as semantically redefined objects that question the principles of our contemporary culture.
Michael Sailstorfer’s tear pieces stem from a series from 2019 wherein the artist began to examine the multifaceted possibilities of the tear shape manifested in various materials. The work “Salt (3)” is cut from a solid block of salt rock and could be seen as the cumulative remains from the world’s tears. For “Tränentrockner Paris” (“Tear Dryer Paris”), 54 found bottles have been heated and expanded to mimic a tear shape. They are suspended from a drying rack reminiscent of Duchamp’s iconic bottle dryer.