DOMESTIC SCULPTURE GARDEN (2010–2011)
Michael Strasser
April 15th – July 8th, 2010
308at156 is proud to present its first solo exhibition, DOMESTIC SCULPTURE GARDEN (2010-2011) by Austrian artist Michael Strasser (April 15 – Jul 8). For this series, Strasser had worked in different apartments and houses, investigating the various surfaces to be found there. Beginning by “manipulating” a parquet floor and wall to wall carpet, Strasser discovered that layers beneath the surface also offer an interesting point of research for his artistic engagement.
This ongoing series re-reads craftsmanship in a post-modern context. It reclaims a different approach that highlights the discrepancy between making and creating, and tries to analyze our relationship with the man-made environment. On another level his work openly confronts the interface of photography and sculpture and focuses on ephemeral aspects in sculpture. Michael Strasser likes the idea of revisiting spaces, investigating the marks and traces that are left to be discovered.
In doing so, he rewrites the narratives of these places by taking a stance which is not necessarily guided by cause-effect or history-based principles. Both his concept and approach often take on a playful demeanor, relating to René Magritte’s notions of representation (i.e. ordinary objects transcribed into unusual contexts; attributing new meanings to familiar things).
Since graduating from the Department of Photography at the University of Applied Arts Vienna in 2006, Strasser’s practice and interests broadened to include a variety of media and artistic expression beyond photography; particularly installation, sculpture and performance. His work addresses questions on contemporary societal structures by examining and attempting to retrace the line that divides our private and public spheres. Through investigating his own personal response, as well as general responses to these common value systems, Strasser’s work shows us just how curved this line can be.
Michael Strasser was born in 1977 in Innsbruck, Austria, and graduated from the Department of Photography at the University of Applied Arts Vienna in 2006. His work has been funded by a number of awards and grants, such as the National Grant For Artistic Photography given by the Federal Ministry for Art and Culture of Austria in 2008 and the Subsidy Award For Contemporary Art given by the Province of Tyrol. His artwork has been presented in numerous solo and group shows in Austria and abroad at the Julia Stoschek Foundation in Düsseldorf (2010), the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York (2009) and the projectspace of Kunsthalle Wien (2006), among others. In 2010, he released a book entitled Michael Strasser – Exotic Strings a Compilation with Verlag für moderne Kunst Nürnberg. This Summer, the Korean Arts Council has invited him to participate in the Geumcheon Artist Residency Program in Seoul. Strasser currently lives and works in Vienna and London.
For further information, please visit http://www.michaelstrasser.net/
