24 May 2013

Tommy Støckel: 8 Accidental Arrangements at KUNSTHALLE São Paulo

LX92 #3

Tommy Støckel
8 Accidental Arrangements

Exhibition through 23 June 2013


Continuing the series LX92, which reaches its third edition, KUNSTHALLE São Paulo proudly invites Danish artist Tommy Støckel (*1972 in Copenhagen), to present 8 Accidental Arrangements, his first solo show in South America.

Tommy Støckel's artistic research is greatly influenced by his interest in architecture and geometry. This is manifested in his site-specific geometric sculptures and his process, which often makes use of scale models of the spaces in which he exhibits. The artist incorporates and plays with the difficulties that artists face when exhibiting internationally – such as having their works shipped around the world, or creating a show in venues which are not always perfect and immaculate white cubes – and lets chance plays a role in the whole process.

For 8 Accidental Arrangements, Støckel created a series of 8 scale models of KUNSTHALLE São Paulo's whole space (cafe and exhibition area), in which he placed a series of abstract, geometric sculptures. These scale models, containing the sculptures lying loosely in them, were packed and shipped from Germany to Brazil, each one transported by a different courier. When in Brazil, the artist opened the boxes, and used the scale models of the space with the sculptures, as they arrived, to reconstruct their semi-accidental compositions, using now real-size sculptures in the real space.

These ephemeral compositions were then photographed becoming permanent records of this playful conceptual project, in which the artist transforms all the elements into creative materials: shipping becomes agent of the creative process, with couriers unawarely deciding the composition of the exhibition; KUNSTHALLE São Paulo spatial characteristics and dimensions become also essential part of the experiment, as the space is not a simple exhibition venue, but comprises a cafe, whose elements are strange to exhibition making; and last but not least, the sculptures themselves are also very playful, as they are made of temporal materials and look more like mock-ups than the traditional minimal geometric sculptures stereotype.

The result is an exhibition composed by the 8 scale models as they arrived, the real-size sculptures and the photographs of the compositions of the real-size sculptures arranged in the space.


Curated by Marina Coelho


Supported by: the Danish Arts Council


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About Tommy Støckel

Tommy Støckel (*1972 in Copenhagen, Denmark). Lives and works in Berlin. Graduated from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art, in Copenhagen. Among the exhibitions in which he participated are: the solo show Ten Transports That Shaped The Work, at Jacob's Island Gallery (2013), in London; Conductivity, at Location One (2012), in New York; Abstract Possible - The Stockholm Synergies, at Tensta Konsthall and Bukowskis (2012), in Stockholm; Freilassung, at Museum Lichtenberg (2012), and the solo show When Pasts and Futures Meet, at The Nordic Embassies (2008), both in Berlin; Abstract Possible - The Zürich Test (with Wade Guyton), at White Space (2011), in Zürich; Dystopia, at CAPC Museum of Contemporary Art (2011), in Bordeaux; the solo show 3 Sculptures, at SMART Project Space (2010), in Amsterdam; the solo show Tommy Støckel's Art of Tomorrow, at Arnolfini (2009), in Bristol; and the solo show From Here to Then and back again, at Kunstverein Langenhagen (2008), in Langenhagen.


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About LX92

The project LX92 consists of a series of exhibitions of foreign artists at KUNSTHALLE São Paulo, and aims to create an international dialogue between São Paulo and Switzerland, expanding the local art scene for the ideas that are being discussed in that country and promoting swiss artists. In exchange, artists who have their shows at KUNSTHALLE São Paulo have a chance to experience a contact with the Brazilian culture while installing their works, which most of the times are developed for the space exclusively. The project title is a reference to the direct flight that connects Zurich to Sao Paulo.


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About KUNSTHALLE São Paulo

Opened in September 2012, KUNSTHALLE São Paulo is an independent contemporary art space. Holding projects and exhibitions of national and international artists, the space is characterized by experimentation, community formation and the creation of discussions around current social and contemporary art issues. Comprising an exhibition space and a cafe / bar (Café Sulferino) KUNSTHALLE São Paulo functions as a meeting point for artists, theorists, and people who are interested in art in general, who may suggest projects, discursive events, such as lectures and debates, video projections and concerts.



KUNSTHALLE São Paulo
Rua dos Pinheiros, 411
05422-010 - São Paulo - SP - Brasil
T + 55 11 2339 8586
www.kunsthallesaopaulo.com
info@kunsthallesaopaulo.com

Opening hours:
Wednesday to Friday from 11pm to 7pm
Saturdays and Sundays from 2pm to 10pm
Closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and holidays.