Welcome to the current exhibition. Welcome to a new art battle.
Do we have time to hurry? "Yes, of course! Uh. No. Of course not." – that’s what goes through my mind when I read this. Perhaps looking at the works presented here will help us find a way to understand this question. Let’s start with Søren Kierkegaard, who once postulated:
"Not even Pandora’s box could contain as many misfortunes and as much misery as is hidden in the small word: the demand of time." Almost 1800 years after the Greek teachings of Stoicism, this quote still holds much of what those teachings have to say about time. And “stoic” is also one of the first words that come to mind when engaging with the works of these two artists.
One of them, Angelika Wischermann, earned her Bachelor’s in Sculpture and Multimedia at Muthesius University of Fine Arts continuing her artistic development in Vienna. There, she studied under Erwin Wurm and completed her diploma with Martin Walde in 2013. Her work engages with performance, video, installation, and objects.
The other, Susanne Nothdurft, also studied first at Muthesius University under Peter Nagel and Birgit Jensen, and then continued as a master student at the Berlin University of the Arts with Karl-Heinz Herrfurth. Though a committed painter, she often works with various media – yet the core theme always remains the same.
What do we see?
Susanne Nothdurft presents five works she selected specifically for this exhibition. In all of them, we see form being placed in relation to surface and space. The artist exposes us to visually grounded experiences based on serial sequences. We begin with the oldest piece, The Spool, consisting of two metal plates into which she hand-drilled 1,200 holes and then connected them with thread. These threads were patiently painted from the inside out. Feel free to interact with the spool later to witness the remarkable flickering it produces when moved.
In the small room, another work is displayed which thematically belongs to this series and which Susanne fittingly calls Silkscreen. However, the serial element here is not an edition – this is a one-of-a-kind piece – but rather the sequence of steps by which it was created. You are welcome to count the individually applied colors and thereby trace the many stages of work required to create this unique artwork.
Also on view are three wooden pieces from the Moves series, which Susanne describes as follows: First comes the sawing, then discovering form and color – step by step.
Step by step also moves the dream traveller we encounter in Angelika Wischermann’s video Oneironaut. To breathe underwater, she must slowly move from one oxygen-filled balloon to the next. Angelika’s work consistently explores the interplay between body, material, and space. Repetition and the passage of time are key themes she explores. A bit of madness, she says herself, is probably present in these actions.
The work Wochenstand (Weekly Position) expresses this beautifully – in a simple yet profoundly aesthetic way. We see seven sheets of paper, each coated with a chemical solution, on which Angelika stood for six hours per day over seven consecutive days. Using the cyanotype technique, UV light left imprints of these “daily states.” The blurriness in the images results from subtle movements within the effort to remain completely still.
At first glance, the two artists could not be more different. But in conversation, they quickly discovered several key commonalities – which are now also a focal point of the exhibition.
Seriality: Susanne constructs block by block, color field by color field. Angelika’s works often involve the repetition or chaining of actions or processes.
Continuability: Both artists' works could be extended further – they are sequences that can expand over time and space.
Rhythm: Their practices follow a structured duration of steps and modules. These components unite in the finished work to form a whole.
Time, Repetition, Duration: Even though the same action is repeated, the outcome is never exactly the same. Both artists experience this nearly every day in their practice. Although they repeatedly subject themselves to certain rules, these only offer the illusion of a predetermined path – because the outcome is never fully predictable and always diverges in some way from the previous attempt. And thus, there is a certain radicality that unites them. While Angelika might take a scuba diving course to realize a work, Susanne might completely paint over a half-finished piece if the colour palette doesn’t feel right. The contrast between surface-level aesthetics and the effort behind it can only be achieved through the precision and discipline both maintain. The amount of energy invested plays a central role here.
Certainly, the works of these two wonderful artists could each be interpreted differently and in separate contexts. But what they demonstrate together – on such a small stage, yet with such cohesion and clarity – is truly impressive.
A battle, but a constructive and inspiring one.
Their way of working could be summed up as: Step by step.
At this point, I’ll leave a little pause – for those who now remember a certain boyband song from the '80s. So I’m not the only one walking around with that earworm all evening.
Or – ideally – perhaps you’re reminded of a singer from the '90s.
Step by step – approaching the result without looking too far ahead. Acting and reacting in the here and now. A mental exercise that Marcus Aurelius describes as "confining yourself to the present." That means turning away from past and future, focusing instead on what you are currently doing. For according to this philosophy, the present alone is sufficient for our happiness. It is the only thing we truly possess – and the only thing that depends on us. A philosophy that doesn’t aim to construct a system, but rather to adopt a particular way of viewing the world.
And that brings it very close to art.
Perhaps that’s why I’ve become so fond of the small shadows on Angelika’s watercolor paper – gently hinting at an imperfect reality – or Susanne’s small, newer pieces in the side room, which offer pleasant little pauses. I don’t know. You should form your own opinion.
As for the question: "Do we have time to hurry?", I’d like to answer with the words of Wolfgang Neuss: “The day is 24 hours long – but it’s differently wide.”