A collection of paintings, photographs and installations examining the human politics of geography and capitalism
Durden and Ray presents What Remains Shrouded in Darkness in collaboration with Swiss art space REDAKTION.
Hopelessness, irony, and poetry permeate this collection of instant-culture objects and photographs by Stephan Wittmer, as well as a melancholic nostalgia that is consistently disrupted by the trashy, cheap signs of consumerism. The digital photographs mounted on wooden boards lend themselves a poetic rawness; ochre meets the blue of the sky in between smears of brown: the structure of the wood inscribes itself into the images and makes its presence felt or, rather, seen. Knotholes, at times akin to dark suns, eat into the images like burn marks, which draw the viewer into previously unnoticed details – a tear here or a bullet hole there. These images are at the mercy of time. Where do they come from? Where do they go?
Pat Treyer’s new series of drawings depict strange, everyday gestures by women. Applied with thin paint or strong felt-tip pen onto sections of maps of Switzerland as well as other countries, the artist creates an intrusive narrative of placeless actions across roads and valleys, lakes and mountains, thereby opening up a field of emotions and existential questions: What the hell am I doing here? And anyway: how does this go on here and WHY?
The works of Treyer and Wittner share a unique imagination, while independently evoking strong associations between homelessness and restless stops in between.
REDAKTION is the exhibition and discussion space of Stephan Wittmer and Simon Kindle. Located in a former car repair station at the center of Lucerne. Their shows are in conjunction with the monthly publication _957 Independent Art Magazine – the editorial office becomes the three-dimensional space of the printed magazine. The archive of all 155 issues to date is permanently accessible, housing numerous unique works by important Swiss artists. Behind the gallery’s big, blue gate, varied projects are conceived and implemented. The editorial team also provides a platform for young artists. In the adjacent backyard, an overgrown parking lot, unused billboards are repurposed by the editorial office.
“We believe in the global power of driven and engaged artists in contemporary art.”
