Published in conjunction with the exhibition of Theresa Reusch at ADS1A (Basement), Cologne, November 12 – December 17, 2016.
Is materiality now immaterial? Can painting be considered complicated? Does painting have a new potential? In the work of Theresa Reusch painting is about as relevant as the next thing. Drawing, painting, photography, sculpture and collage form an autonomous loop of representation and exchange, a deeply personal narrative. Its mediation (in this case an exhibition, a book and yet another exhibition) constantly shifts from objects to image and back again, all about to be documented, photographed and photoshopped again to be fed into a social media for everyone to digest an re-appropriate.
Still, the question remains. Is materiality now immaterial? Would Duchamp no web on Instagram? Would the fountain still be a readymade or a camera phone snapshot on his profile instead?
How does a work of art begin to signify anything to the beholder? How does its meaning circulate? Is the continuing emphasis on the physical manifestation o of the work, the object, the exhibition a viable counter proposal to the digital? Or is the object finally to be considered a transitional stage into its further digitization? Is there even a conflict?
