Erdarbeiten I-IV with Christoph Blankenberg, Priska Engelhardt, Klara Meinhardt, Patrick Will und Daniel Wolter
The road construction work currently taking place on the Sonnenberg is intended to lead to a sustainable district heating supply and smoother road traffic. A volcanic eruption 290 million years ago led to the formation of a petrified forest here. In the 19th century, it became the home of the workers of the industrial city of Chemnitz. In the socialist model city of Karl-Marx-Stadt, the neighbourhood was neglected as a district of old buildings, abandoned by many after the reunification and torn apart by demolition in the noughties. The cut affects the neighbourhood, brings construction noise in the morning and, thanks to the lack of traffic, peace and quiet in the evening. Pioneer vegetation finds a temporary habitat and litter accumulates. Technical infrastructure and historical remains become visible in the cracked earth. With reference to this, Klub Solitaer has invited 5 artists to realise exhibitions in its rooms. They are using this temporary state as an opportunity to find a different relationship to the ground.
Klub Solitaer opens the Galerie Glaskasten from Thursdays to Saturdays from 4 pm to 8 pm and the Galerie Hinten from Thursdays to Saturdays from 6 pm, Sundays from 3 pm.
Erdarbeiten I – Klara Meinhardt | 22.06.–28.07.2024 | Galerie GLASKASTEN
Klara Meinhardt deals with people and the space that forms their identity. In her sculptural works, she explores urban space as a tangible landscape. In graphic and textile works, she weaves references from cultural history, architecture, flora and fauna into complex motifs. In particular, she has devoted herself to the cyanotype exposure technique, which she most recently applied using natural UV light, collected rainwater and colouring techniques made from natural materials.
Erdarbeiten II – Daniel Wolter | 22.06.–28.07.2024 | Galerie HINTEN
In his artistic research practice, Daniel Wolter uncovers the geological, biological and social dimensions of the landscape using sensors. By listening to the ground geophonically, he opens up new landscapes and entire ecosystems. He uses various field recordings that have been made in Germany since 2019 and most recently in Chemnitz. Using sensor-based audio recordings, different cultural landscapes can be experienced and compared in terms of sound.
Erdarbeiten III – Priska Engelhardt; 16.08.–15.09.2024 | Galerie GLASKASTEN
Priska Engelhardt’s artistic focus is on the relationships between animals and humans and the joy, affection and closeness that can arise from this. Her regular contact with animals inspires her to take different playful approaches with changeable materials such as clay, porcelain and textiles. Engelhardt uses digital methods as well as pop-cultural hobby techniques and specific pneumatic machines. She researches extensively, which is why her final works often take unpredictable directions.
Erdarbeiten IV – Christoph Blankenburg; 16.08.–15.09.2024 | Galerie HINTEN
In joyful performances, Christoph Blankenburg explores a wide variety of landscape formations – from volcanic origins to slag heaps from the recent industrial past. With abstract movements, he engages with the landscape in careful and, as it were, fleeting actions. The documentary video works allow us to trace this later. For some time now, he has been concentrating on the cultural and spiritual connections of the Thuringian Forest, which he pursues with enigmatic actions. The explored landscape also expands East German identities in Chemnitz, with its cherished Ore Mountain traditions.
Erdarbeiten V – Patrick Will; 27.09.–10.11.2024 | Galerie HINTEN
Patrick Will takes an indepth look at the stinging nettle. He confronts the stigma of the weed with earnestness and botanical attention to detail, creating convincing multi-dimensional references to the plant in industry, the food culture, medicine, music and art history. Using artistic means, he succeeds in creating a seriousness and attention for the apparent weed without artificially elevating it. By means of walks, workshops and lectures, he makes the manifold connections between human beings and nettles visible. Most recently, he resorted to nettles in the Chemnitz region. For the earthworks, the Weed Information Centre, which he initiated and runs, conducts investigative research to uncover the means by which states and municipalities implement a image of gardening that stands against botanical diversity and for the exclusion of some plant species.
Erdarbeiten VI – Reinhard Krehl | 27.09.–10.11.2024 | Galerie GLASKASTEN
Reinhard Krehl is an artist and walk researcher. In his practice, he explores how order and disorder shape our perception. His works question scientific systems and everyday experiences. He uses Strollology to capture the poetic and anarchic freedom of nature, challenging traditional botanical classifications. For Reinhard Krehl, nature acts as an ambassador in each of its forms. The artist himself becomes an ambassador, a mediator between nature and man, who sharpens our view of nature and shows us what we can learn from it. For the earthworks, Reinhard Krehl explores the migration history of various plants discovered on the Sonnenberg and their social attributions.