GALERIE METRO

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December 14th 2007 - January 11th 2008

Opening Friday, December 14th, 7-10 pm

Galerie Metro is pleased to present “Ermittlung / VII”, the first solo-exhibition of the artist Tatjana Bergius.

In her current series of black and white small-format figurative ink works – here, densely hung as a block next to and above each other, almost covering the entire wall – she deals according to the exhibition title with investigation (Ermittlung). The series “Ermittlung / VII” was started at the beginning of this year and has been continued since then as a work in progress.

Subject of this investigation are a number of themes: the German past, family stories, current world events, popular culture, every-day experiences, personal memories etc. In a nearly alchemic manner the single threads of narration are interwoven with each other. Family or press photographs, as well as other found image materials, often serve as template and inspiration. However, investigation should also be understood in a criminalistic sense, as many of the images are culled from an archive of crime scene drawings the artist was working on for the Berlin police for many years.

Yet, what is it exactly that is being investigated and recorded? In this visual diary or rather visual brainstorming the collective memory merges with the presence and a highly personal perception of the world. Tatjana Bergius investigates the many layers, levels and false bottoms of possible truths and creates an almost mythological world of images with a strongly suggestive, atmospherical and densely woven texture. A map picturing the human condition with all its many facets emerges while „the field of pure art is being transformed into a kind of social chronicle“ (James Kalm). The artist calls it „working out of the shadow (…) the crime scene is everywhere, it has many faces (…) you never know exactly what can be found behind the fleeting surface.“

This multi-layered content can also be perceived stylistically. By using ink on canvas, the border between drawing and painting is blurred while the way the works are hung has installative character. Simultaneously, the stark images, rich in contrast and of clear and dramatic figuration, are reminiscent of comic strips, as well as snap shots or film stills.

Tatjana Bergius was born in 1969 in Berlin, where she studied with Prof. Wolfgang Petrick at the Hochschule der Künste (1999 as Meisterschülerin) and also lives and works. Bergius’ works have been shown at Haus Ungarn, Berlin, (Europaflies, 2006), Düsseldorfer Kunsthalle (Tauchfahrten, 2004), Kolbe Museum, Berlin
(Deep Action, 2003), Haus am Kleistpark, Berlin, (2002), Haus am Waldsee, Berlin, (2001) and at the galleries Susanne Zander, Köln, (1999) and Gießler/Nothelfer, Berlin, (1996). She received a grant of the Karl Hofer Gesellschaft in 2001. In 2002, Bergius was an Assistant at Sommerakademie Salzburg. Please contact the Gallery if you need further information or image material.