Yasmin Mueller, Portrait Skygirl (open eyes), 2015. Courtesy Maria Stenfors, London.
YASMIN MUELLER
GOSH, I FANTASISE
6 May – 13 June 2015
Maria Stenfors, London
In Gosh, I Fantasise, Mueller continues her exploration of the muse through sculptural objects, with an installation that oscillates between the dreamlike and a hardedge reality.
A series of wall and floor sculptures reveal graphic abstractions intertwined with meaning. Black denim is fashioned into geometric shapes, akin to a soft skeleton or a labyrinth of guts, which starkly puncture the white cube gallery space, claiming its own domain. Mueller’s hand makes the soft material behave like hard metal or more traditional sculpture, and the resulting installation presents a tension between external structure and the inner world.
The abstract graphic forms are placed around the exhibition space like a hidden formalistic language with messages between the artist and her collaborator. Hovering above is a poster-size photographic image of a seductive female, revealing the interplay between creator and subject. The traditional relationship between the artist and his muse, and the historical iconographic language of the Madonna is both challenged and teased.
Mueller is an emotional tourist exploring norms and rules within tropes in art history as well as society. The exhibition delves into the psychology of humans, be it friends or lovers. The process of making becomes a guide for the contemporary visitor through the labyrinth of her territory.
Yasmin Mueller was born in 1977, studied at the Staatliche Akademie der bildenden Kuenste Karlsruhe, and lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Solo exhibitions include ‘Caramel’, Cruise & Callas, Berlin, 2014, ‘Copia: Modern disbelief’, Maria Stenfors, London, 2012, and ‘Things’, V8 Plattform, Kalsruhe, 2007. Group exhibitions include: ‘Black Market’, Lehrter Siebzehn, Berlin, 2014, ‘Rare Birds’, Jean-Baptiste Bouvet studio, Berlin, 2014, and ‘pieces’, Kwadrat, Berlin, 2013.
Yasmin Mueller, Installation view, ‘Gosh, I fantasise, 2015, Courtesy Maria Stenfors, London. Photo: Matthew Booth
Yasmin Mueller, Installation view, ‘Gosh, I fantasise, 2015, Courtesy Maria Stenfors, London. Photo: Matthew Booth
Yasmin Mueller, Installation view, ‘Gosh, I fantasise, 2015, Courtesy Maria Stenfors, London. Photo: Matthew Booth
Yasmin Mueller, Installation view, ‘Gosh, I fantasise, 2015, Courtesy Maria Stenfors, London. Photo: Matthew Booth
Yasmin Mueller, Portrait Skygirl (eyes closed), 2015, Courtesy Maria Stenfors, London. Photo: Matthew Booth
Yasmin Mueller, Portrait (YM), 2015. Courtesy Maria Stenfors, London. Photo: Matthew Booth
Yasmin Mueller, Cosmophagy, 2015. Courtesy Maria Stenfors, London. Photo: Matthew Booth
Yasmin Mueller, Spine, 2015. Courtesy Maria Stenfors, London. Photo: Matthew Booth
Maria Stenfors
Unit 10, 21 Wren Street,
London WC1X 0HF UK
020 7837 0819
info@mariastenfors.com
mariastenfors.com
Opening hours
Tuesday – Friday: 11.00 am – 6.00 pm
Saturday: 11.00 am – 3.00 pm
Or by appointment