Artists

Gilges, Simone

Fantasie Krafttier, 2018
(c) Simone Gilges & KM, Berlin; Foto: Simone Gilges

It is the invisible, the foreboding, that makes the work of multimedia artist Simone Gilges (b. 1973) as captivating as it is memorable. Created from a multiplicity of materials and arising from a fascinating symbology, it leads us to questionreality as we know it and opens up space for multi-layered shades of meaning. Supported on gold leaf-covered feet and wooden legs, the sculptural mythical creature Fantasie Krafttier (Fantasy Power Animal, 2018) emerges from somewhere between dream and reality, enveloping its surroundings in an atmospheric charge of mystery and creative revelation. As is so often the case with Gilges’ works, this piece is preceded by a holism articulated in the constitution of its external form. Gilges concentrates on mixing minimalist and monochromatic styles with expressive colors and forms, setting them in a dynamic harmony of attraction and repulsion. Parallel works including Sind die Gläser denn richtig sauber? (Are the Glasses Really Clean?, 2011) and Planet (2008) offer a pointed and at times humorous critique of existing social structures and global systems.
Questions of value, overconsumption, and programmatic lifestyles come into play, as do interpersonal relationships, oppression, and class societal constructs. Though photography has long been a focus, her sculptural works have always been significant and continue to form an integral part of her artistic output, even if they have not always been in the public eye. The artist accumulates found objects, leftover bits, and quotidian items from all over, breathing new contexts of meaning into them through a mindful use of materials, construction, and placement. As a result, all of her work is imbued with a migration of things. Her works visualize immaterial processes and states. Caught between the present and the possible, between the need for change and the search for fulfillment, Gilge’s multifaceted sculptures take us on an endless journey through interconnected worlds - environments pulsating with a sense of togetherness.

Text: Gloria Aino Grzywatz, englische Übersetzung: Amy Patton

It is the invisible, the foreboding, that makes the work of multimedia artist Simone Gilges (b. 1973) as captivating as it is memorable. Created from a multiplicity of materials and arising from a fascinating symbology, it leads us to questionreality as we know it and opens up space for multi-layered shades of meaning. Supported on gold leaf-covered feet and wooden legs, the sculptural mythical creature Fantasie Krafttier (Fantasy Power Animal, 2018) emerges from somewhere between dream and reality, enveloping its surroundings in an atmospheric charge of mystery and creative revelation. As is so often the case with Gilges’ works, this piece is preceded by a holism articulated in the constitution of its external form. Gilges concentrates on mixing minimalist and monochromatic styles with expressive colors and forms, setting them in a dynamic harmony of attraction and repulsion. Parallel works including Sind die Gläser denn richtig sauber? (Are the Glasses Really Clean?, 2011) and Planet (2008) offer a pointed and at times humorous critique of existing social structures and global systems.
Questions of value, overconsumption, and programmatic lifestyles come into play, as do interpersonal relationships, oppression, and class societal constructs. Though photography has long been a focus, her sculptural works have always been significant and continue to form an integral part of her artistic output, even if they have not always been in the public eye. The artist accumulates found objects, leftover bits, and quotidian items from all over, breathing new contexts of meaning into them through a mindful use of materials, construction, and placement. As a result, all of her work is imbued with a migration of things. Her works visualize immaterial processes and states. Caught between the present and the possible, between the need for change and the search for fulfillment, Gilge’s multifaceted sculptures take us on an endless journey through interconnected worlds - environments pulsating with a sense of togetherness.

Text: Gloria Aino Grzywatz, englische Übersetzung: Amy Patton

Fantasie Krafttier, 2018
(c) Simone Gilges & KM, Berlin; Foto: Simone Gilges