Artistic research: Art and time structures

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Kunstverein Tiergarten is organizing a programme of events that takes a closer look at the phenomena of time and temporality. Part of the program is the group exhibition approaching world, which runs from 12 April to 15 June in Berlin. The invited artists Birgit Cauer, Nathalia Favaro, Kati Gausmann, Juliane Laitzsch and Muriel Valat-B represent different media such as sculpture, textile and video art, but all deal with the phenomena of time. Long-term observations and process sequences can be found in their works, as can the fleeting nature of the moment and investigations into memories.

The exhibition is curated by Veronika Witte and Kati Gausmann.

Sculptor Birgit Cauer, who is taking part in the Art.Salon artist program, is presenting five recent works from the LITHO VITAL series in the exhibition. These sculptures are the result of a unique, experimental working method: Cauer drenches the stones with salts and acids over a period of several months. The erosions create new, bizarre forms. The artist pushes the processes, which then seek their own paths. She sees stone as matter that is part of the cycle of all living things. It is exposed to pressure and time and is subject to both natural and human-influenced transformation processes. Only from our human perspective does the material seem like an unchangeable variable.

For her latest works, such as Litho Vital X (2023), which can be seen in approaching world, Cauer intensifies her artistic research work. The sculptures are drill cores from larger sculptures that have been treated with hydrochloric acid, meaning they originate from inside the stone. In this case, it is Thüster limestone, which is quarried in southern Lower Saxony and consists of the shells of small marine animals that have been pressed together over millions of years: living stone.

The exhibition offers the opportunity to follow the creative process of the sculptures: In a room that can only be seen through a glass pane, Cauer has temporarily set up her laboratory, which is normally located in the Atelierhaus Panzerhalle in Potsdam. The artist will be present at the opening on April 12 and for an artist talk on April 25.