Artists
Michael Riedel Born in 1972 in RĂĽsselsheim, Germany | Lives and works in Frankfurt/Main
Although the term conceptual artist can be applied to Michael Riedel, it falls short because the material implementation of his practice is substantial when compared to his conceptual approach. It is the material manifestations in printed matter of every form, in performances, or fabric pictures that define his art in the intentional failure of the “Riedel system.”
There are repeated instances that Riedel knew how to exploit; such as cutting the letters of the word “modern” out of fabric, placing them upside down, and letting gravity pull them into new forms that were meant to be proposals for a gallery logo for the Modern Institute in Glasgow (2007-).
The artist has gained particular notoriety since 2000 by operating an experimental art space in Oskar-von-Miller Strasse 16 in Frankfurt, which he organized together with Dennis Loesch. The main thrust of the activity was to simply replicate the activities of the Frankfurt art scene—the simulacra, including the screening of filmed films and the replication of complete club nightlife in sculpturally sketched imitations of the clubs gave rise to a kind of subtext that was less an interpretation than a manifestation of the culture of a city. The simple principle applied in a multitude of deviations, mirror images, accelerations, and distortions, etc. resulted in a lot of activity that could be described as artist expression while circumventing any claim to authorship. It is as if Michael Riedel were able to continually provide himself with new subject matter and forms for his works without having to involve himself with aesthetic decisions or their arbitrariness. Others provide the pretence for his art; he himself can rely on a system that never becomes a system.
Education
| 1994-2000 |
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf Städelschule Frankfurt École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris |
Solo exhibitions (selection)
| 2012 | Kunste zur Text, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt |
| 2010 | The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, Kunstverein Hamburg |
| 2008 | The Inevitable Show, Lewis Glucksman Gallery, Cork, Irland [The Eternal Now: Warhol and the Factory ’63 – ’68] |
| 2007 | Vicini Michael S. Riedel John Bo, Kunstraum Innsbruck |
| 2006 | Tirala, Art Statements, Art 37 Basel |
Group exhibitions (selection)
| 2011 | So machen wir es. Techniken und Ă„sthetik der Aneignung, Kunsthaus Bregenz |
| 2010 | Permanent Mimesis: An exhibition about Realism and Simulation, Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin |
| 2009 | Stutter, Tate Modern, London |
| 2007 | The History of a Decade that has not yet been named, Biennale de Lyon |
| 2005 | Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Lenin Museum, Moskau |
| 2003 | Kontext, Form, Troja, Secession, Wien |