German artist Astrid Klein at Sprueth Magers 2 Apr - 3 May

Exhibition Description:

The exhibition is a retrospective of works by German artist Astrid Klein. It includes a large mirror installation piece on entering the exhibition, which presents visitors with their own reflection. The reflection is distorted as the mirror surface has been smashed, causing the image to become fragmented and estranged. This piece is entitled 'Don't look at me'. Next to this, is a series of large photo collages from 1980 which have never been presented outside Germany.

Klein appropriated the so-called ‘photo roman’, during her residency at the Cité des Arts. This is a highly popular form of pulp fiction fusing the seductive imagery of cinema and the narrative structure of the comic strip. In doing so, Klein analyses the questions of representation and perception of women in mainstream culture, which at the time were being discussed by theorists such as Laura Mulvey. Klein has called herself ‘a feminist by genetics’ and was fascinated by the power of the female in the films of John Cassavetes, Jean-Luc Godard and R.W. Fassbinder. Yet, it is Astrid Klein's combination of the boldness of the photo-roman imagery and the uncanniness of image-text relationship that makes her work so compelling and unique within the classic German post-modern era.
Klein has participated in a number of key exhibitions worldwide. Klein will be in conversation with Lisa Le Fevre on the 1st of May at 7pm.

Description:

Astrid Klein, 'Que reste-t-il...', 1980, Courtesy of the artist and Monika Sprüth Philomene Magers, Cologne, Munich, London.

Full Contact Details:

Monika Sprüth Philomene Magers Ltd,
7A Grafton Street,
London, W1S 4EJ,
Great Britain,
phone +44(0)207-4081613,
fax +44(0)207-4994531

opening hours:
Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 6pm
and by appointment