Exhibition
-5

Arboretum Obergaiching - Wolfgang Reiffenstuel's tree collection | Artist Mukbang | tiefkeller 

30.10. - 7.11.2021

A damp, dark cellar, immersed in pink light from plant lamps, a jungle of hanging and lying ceramic sculptures by tiefkeller* combined with edible, synthetic-looking objects by the artist duo Artist Mukbang**. A collection of trees***, which is the starting point and part of tiefkeller's sixth installation, but can only be experienced in an indirect way. In " -5 " it sprawls, congeals, smacks, drips, rustles, flickers, hangs.

The installation oscillates between direct and indirect experience of nature and at the same time questions our relationship to it. What meaning do liveliness and sensuality have in a controlled, digitalized society striving for security?

* tiefkeller is an artist collective by sculptor Kathrin Graf and painter Bettina Marx. At the same time it is the name of their installative work in a brick cellar in Bonn's Südstadt. Inspired by scientific or private collections, tiefkeller creates installations that question the genre boundaries between artwork and collection exhibit. In doing so, the artist duo establishes sensual levels of reference between space, their own and invited artworks, and collection pieces, addressing both the art-interested and the public that is not interested in art.

* Since 2015 Liza Dieckwisch and Julia Gruner have been working together as the artist duo „Artist Mukbang“ on the border between art and food. In their often participatory projects they draw parallels between the material of paint and food, thus sharpening our perception of artificiality and naturalness of our everyday food. Since 2019 they also run the YouTube channel „Artist Mukbang“ where you can watch people eating colorful food.

** Wolfgang Reiffenstuel has been collecting trees in his "Arboretum Obergaiching" (Southern Germany) since the late 1950s. In his collection there are about 3000 species of woody plants and 1000 species of perennials. Alongside native trees and shrubs, exotics thrive peacefully in a wild arrangement, defying the difficult geographical, climatic and geological conditions. For Reiffenstuel, economic, scientific or educational goals were never at the forefront of his passion for collecting; rather, his collection follows aesthetic standards that reflect his love and fascination for nature. 

Supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media.