Having gained a reputation as a reliable force and forward-thinking platform for Public Art in Berlin, OPEN WALLS Gallery is proudly approaching its next evolutionary step as both, curator and arts dealer, by relocating its space at Schröderstrasse 11.1. – right in the centre of Berlin-Mitte, the new gallery is equipped with the sustainability to not only escort the existing artist roster through its progression, but to embrace the opportunity to work together with new talents and increase its reach.
Vernissage & Opening Ceremony
Friday July 3rd. 18:00 – 22:00
Introduction Speech by Jordan Seiler
Friday July 3rd. 19:00
Runtime 03.07.-29.08. Tuesday-Saturday 11:00-18:00
or by appointment (info@openwallsgallery.com)
More information:
http://www.vermibus.com
http://publicadcampaign.com
http://www.openwallsgallery.
Celebrating its Grand Opening on July 3rd 2015, OPEN WALLS Gallery brings New York based Public Art pioneer Jordan Seiler together with European art activist Vermibus for a very special show, which consciously sets a statement against the superficial surface of today’s commercialized cityscapes and the visual pollution of outdoor advertising. You will find more information… here
Biography
Berliners may have already seen in the streets or in the subway stations of the city intriguing advertisements that are not as they seem. Berlin based artist VERMIBUS regularly collects advertising posters from the streets, using them in his studio as the base material for his work. There, a process of transformation begins. Using solvent, he brushes away the faces and flesh of the models appearing in the posters as well as the brand logos. Once this evolution is complete, he then reintroduces the adverts back into their original context, hijacking the publicity, and its purpose.
This process evokes voodoo art which uses human elements like hair, or teeth to create anthropomorphic sculptures. In this context, VERMIBUS uses “glossy paper” as his flesh to manipulate. There is something very organic about the emaciated creatures that emanate from the billboards. The impersonal and sanitized perfect bodies have turned into shadows or mummies that have much more presence and singularity.
By using the advertising space and how the human figures are represented in that space, VERMIBUS is removing the masks that we wear and is criticizing advertisement, which takes away a person’s identity and replaces it with the identity of the brand.
VERMIBUS’ art begins and ends in the street, which plays an essential role in his process. People stop, stare, are intrigued, take photos. Publicity adverts show perfectly chiseled bodies and faces like in early ancient Egyptian art. By manipulating the image through removing the flesh of his subjects, VERMIBUS dehumanizes those figures that were already depersonalized, but he is, in fact trying to find the aura of the individual, the personality that was lost. The posters and models that were once so banal, are not so trivial anymore. People notice them, and stop to look at them. They are not part of the background anymore; they stand out in the public space.
Selected Exhibitions
- 2014 – Group Show „POSITIONS“ – OPEN WALLS Gallery – Berlin
- 2014 – Solo show „La estética del dolor“ – La Taché Gallery– Barcelona
- 2013 – Platoon Kunsthalle – the première of Vermibus‘ video Dissolving Europe – Berlin
- 2013 – Art fair Cologne (Solo show) curated by OPEN WALLS Gallery – Cologne
- 2013 – Escape The Golden Cage (group show) – Palais Kinsky – Vienna
- 2013 – Stroke#7 Art Fair – OPEN WALLS Gallery – Munich
- 2013 – Dissidents (group show) – OPEN WALLS Gallery – Berlin
Further information: http://www.openwallsgallery.com/artist/vermibus