Eugen Gomringer, 1999

Elementary and constructive

Observations in the work of Ulrike Kessl

Artistic practice has over the past few years been particularly prolific
in the fields of “constructive” and “concrete” ( concrete in the sense
of geometrically ) composition – which can perhaps be seen as analogy to
an architecture of rather terse forms, but which in any case gains a
much greater response in terms of attention and public integration than
that normally attributed to it in art publications. On the other hand,
an “extrapolating” theory of “constructive art today” does not receive
the attention it deserves. Constructivity was no longer a subject of
discussion and writing in many disciplines apart from art; it even
seemed as if no field of conceptual study could dispense with the term.
The work of Ulrike Kessl should not be seen from a constructive
perspective – although a new notion of constructivity could perhaps be
formulated from her work. Any contemporary notion of constructivity is
dominated by the perennial discussion on subjectivity versus
objectivity, which is now enjoying new currency due to recent advances
in perception studies. It is true that the demands and forms of
Constructivism as practiced in the 1920s are aroused quite unobtrusively
by her daring perspectives as well as her rather rigid ethos. Otherwise
these are a thing of history. This fact should, however, only be
mentioned because constructivity is always judged against the backdrop
of Constructivism, which would appear quite incongruent with regard to
contemporary constructive art. Indeed, even where a “vision of
modernism” is founded on the “construction principle”, the vision does
not take account of that yielded by constructivity within the framework
of the principle, which is, however, no less strict and consistent.
Constructivity is not formulated in relation to mathematical stringency
or geometrical design. There is, rather, sufficient evidence of
constructivity being defined in art practice as a psychological Gestalt
factor, and something better classified as “elementary”.
If the observer surveys the arrangements by Ulrike Kessl from memory or
on the basis of illustrations, he will notice with amazement just how
diverse these present themselves in terms of dimension, volume,
physicality, in fact as full phenomen. They form a sequence of
inventions, partly with spatial reference – as installation – partly as
moveable objects. The invention, however, appears to be linked to a
certain idea, that can be fundamentally and easily- “elementarily”-
transformed. The question arises regarding dominance: which was the
decisive factor, the invention based on a certain situation, or the
searching, subjective idea for a suitable situation and objectivating
possibility? The reply to this questions from the work of Ulrike Kessl
can be formulated easily: both procedures are inventions, which may in
certain cases be preceded by discovery of a situation, a room
presentation, etc. The essence of constructive procedure is thorough its
simplicity, a basic recognition of the “assignment” and ultimately the
transparency of the creative act. Ulrike Kessl shares such
characteristics with not a few colleagues. Her sense for the precise
accuracy of a design with a really broad perceptive spectrum allows the
observer to enjoy the sequence of her inventions with special attention
and keeps him braced for surprises.
Constructivity as realized in the work of Ulrike Kessl, without
ideological operations as it were, amounts to a new invention of the
design subject.

Eugen Gomringer 

Anne Rodler, 2009

Into the magic garden of sculpture.

The work of Ulrike Kessl

The work of Ulrike Kessl is a constant exploration of the relationship
between person and space, between space and body. This concept is felt
like a pulse, like a constantly beating heart. And the artist creates in
this way with her organic objects a very special cosmos of
relationships: her objects penetrate into existing spaces, exploring and
transforming them into the interior of an organism. This is contrasted
with works that entice us into the most minute structures of the human
body or plants, anatomic studies, works of drawing, photographs and
textiles, exploring the delicacy of body structures and their inner
nature. Whether tissue or cellular structure of living creatures,
spatial designs or fabrics of a building – the artist always brings our
attention to the anatomic and the architectural.

This catalogue
presents Ulrike Kessl’s objects and installations from the years 2001 to
2009 in dialogue with select drawings from her “Organ Garden” group of
works (2003), published here for the first time. A garden represents
nature as formed by human hand. A place of tamed flowers and plants, it
provides us with a refuge, a place of sensuality, of pause, an occasion
for observant contemplation. In the garden of organs, nature presents
itself in its carefully crafted beauty. The studied, objective
appearance of naturalness, however, is deceptive, as the plants here are
fused with human organs into fanciful structures. Ulrike Kessl seems to
be playing on biological research into genetic engineering, and beyond
that on human attempts to dominate and control nature. The artist is at
the same time recalling certain medieval notions, and the conceit that
formal analogies between plants and human body parts confer related
medicinal effects. Through their special enchantment, these creatures
bring us into the world of the magic and the surreal.

This
creative and imaginative idea can be seen in the spatial object
“Playpen” (2001), the form of which corresponds to the two hemispheres
of the human brain and which becomes an explorable sculpture for small
children at an exhibition. Material experience, mental and physical
movement are here contrasted with the visual representation of nerve
tracts and cerebral memory cells. Another object amenable to interactive
and haptic experience is the seating group “Polströ” (2001),
representing an oversized digestive tract.

The palpable surface
and the hidden inner structure, skin, organs and skeleton of living
creatures and things are taken by Ulrike Kessl and repeatedly combined
into different, evocative, combinations. She realises this in her
artistic language by means of various collages of defamiliarised
objects, materials and pieces of clothing. Cloths are transformed into
space, articles of clothing into bodies.

Nylon stockings formed
over balloons become, for example, the starting point for objects that
suggest first of all inverted female torsos. The artist then composes
from these a group of fabulous, brightly coloured creatures with the
title “Feerinden” (2008/ 2009), which again raises questions concerning
the interior and the exterior. Stability and fragility, covering and
volume are also investigated in the work “Skirt Columns” (2003). A
series of skirts fixed on top of one another form long columns that
separate the room. They evoke architectural elements, the supporting
function of which is, however, not fulfilled.

The use of
textiles is a recurring leitmotif in the repertoire of the sculptress.
She uses them as structuring and colour elements, in which they also
become the “material” of the aesthetic experiment. Textile techniques
are moreover also transferred to other materials, an idea tangibly
rendered in the curtain made of invitation cards (2006). Here, postcards
were cut up, mixed and then sewn together again. This curtain served as
an element of interior architecture to drape the entrance to the Goethe
Institute in Rabat, to which it also directly referred. Visitors had to
pass it before entering the exhibition and the rooms of the cultural
institute, during which they were also able to read snippets of
information from the cards close up. We encounter here the constantly
present urge to combine drawings, photographs and layouts with plastic
bodies and architectural structures – through physical interaction, the
surface is fused into the body, the 2- into the 3-dimensional.

Anne Rodler