As of May works, of international relevance from the Middelheim Collection can be rediscovered in the Braem Pavilion. These are works that were either specially purchased for the Braem Pavilion or that are too fragile to be installed outdoors. The Middelheim Museum invited the German fashion designers Bernhard Willhelm (b. 1972) and Jutta Kraus (b. 1972) to make the initial selection, and the result is a surprising line-up. Together, these two are the driving force behind Bernhard Willhelm, the fashion label that combines textile, the visual arts, performance, folklore, video art and installations into a multidisciplinary artistic practice.
By compiling an exhibition of work from the collection in the Braem Pavilion, the designers have accepted the challenge of using art from different periods and styles and by various artists to create a single entity that makes sense even though it is not the only logical or conceivable configuration. In the last decade, Bernhard Willhelm and Jutta Kraus have mastered this approach, and by combining elements in different ways they always create surprising results. Sometimes they create a fashion collection or video art, and other times they might enter into a collaboration with a contemporary artist like Olaf Breuning or make a music video for Björk.
The German artist Carsten Fock designed the graphic components of this installation. This painter uses various styles and materials, often integrating the entire space in his installations. Drawings and sketches as well as text are all an essential part of his visual language. He often starts from the portraits of personalities, adding colour, lyrics, statements, quotes from pop culture, advertising messages or his own text fragments to them. By painting over parts of these images, in whole or in part, an interaction is established between the messages, with some appearing, others disappearing. The work’s structure thus becomes uncertain. He seamlessly complements the curators – with whom he often works – thanks to his subtle sense of humour.