BE THERE
I would like to see the Wolf as an IslandPresented by Stux Gallery May 31, 2007- July 7, 2007Reception: May 31, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pmMarkus WetzelStux Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of works by Swiss artist Markus Wetzel. Wetzel continues to explore the extended possibilities of the contemporary image making process, resulting in seamless, nearly arcadian hyper-real digital landscapes and conceptual projects. Utilizing digital imaging technology to create multi-layered synthetic topographies, the resulting works are made without the use of a camera or lens. Jarringly saturated colors imposed onto long open vistas reveal landscapes that exist in complete isolation. The resulting images confuse distinctions between time and place, real and unreal. For his latest exhibition at Stux, Wetzel pushes his process one step further by printing his "sleeping Wolf" as sculpture, which has been printed out three-dimensionally from the same computer file data he uses for his images and animations. Expanding beyond the restrictions of digital interpolation, in Real Island, Wetzel presents photographs of actual islands. Wetzel employs the metaphor of the “island” here, both as a form of reality and fiction: the ultimate luxury of owning a private island versus the isolation and disconnection that such a possession might entail. Anybody can purchase one of these photographs in order to support Wetzel directly to get a real island, where he can test his ideas in the "real reality". Using islands as forms of reality and fiction simultaneously: his images and installation objects reflect the various stages of development of the islands, stretching the fictional, model-like space to the point where fiction and reality intertwine. It is through this interplay that one must ultimately consider these unique landscapes. This will be Markus Wetzel's second solo exhibition at the Stux Gallery. He has participated in the 2004 Gwangju Biennial in Korea and in New York’s EXITART Biennial and showed installations at the prestigious Art Unlimited section of the Basel Art Fair in 2004 and 2005. In addition to receiving numerous honors and awards, has shown extensively in Europe and in the U.S. He has been a member of the Swiss curatorial team at the Kleines Helmhaus in Zurich, Switzerland. Currently Wetzel divides his time between Zurich and New York City.
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