Trace. Carla Arocha & Stéphane Schraenen

Trace by Carla Arocha & Stéphane Schraenen at Galerie Isabella Czarnowska, Berlin Galerie Isabella Czarnowska is pleased to announce the second solo exhibition of the Antwerp-based artists’ duo Carla Arocha & Stéphane Schraenen in its Berlin gallery space. The artists will present a number of their newest works, virtually forming a synopsis of their artistic activities of the past two years. The title Trace already conveys an impression of the character of the exhibition and the atmosphere it will create.

The artworks presented at the Galerie Isabella Czarnowska will become an integral part of the exhibition space; conversely, the gallery space will also influence the works. The artists will moreover venture beyond the physical boundaries of the space and open it up for new and unknown dimensions. As a result, the exhibition will exert a seductive lure and provide aesthetic pleasure by receiving and integrating each of the forms on view. At the same time, it will arouse suspicion and a feeling of uncertainty about what else will appear. The line between the utilitarian function of the architectonic space and a fictional, nonutilitarian one is very fine, and sometimes it is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.

In the installation Frieze II, the wall looks as if it was being deliberately peeled away to expose an unknown source of light. Room II raises questions about the condition of historical memories and their contemporary character. A marble floor structure running across entire gallery seems to allude to the foundations of another building. Perhaps the form refers to a building of the past, now existing as no more than a trace? Or why not think of it as an announcement of possible future events?

The Cabinet, Credenza and Bedside Table form a series of objects distributed throughout the gallery. Each of them features the finest palisander veneer. If at first sight they look like elegant pieces of furniture, on closer inspection we discover that the objects are non-functional. What is more, they have been perforated with perfectly round holes which lead the gaze right through to the other side. This singular gesture not only opens the objects up to new dimensions, but also emphasizes their non-functional character all the more strongly. A literal act of perforation, well known from everyday situations, means nothing more than the end of validity, and turns the furniture into useless objects but beautiful sculptures.

Earlier works by Carla Arocha & Stéphane Schraenen were presented in the exhibition “Caraota Von Moules” with Arturo Herrera at Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin (2012); in their solo exhibition “Persiana” at the Cultuurcentrum Mechelen, Mechelen, Belgium (2014); in “Landscape” in the Sala Juarez of the LARVA Laboratorio de Artes Veriedades, Guadalajara, Mexico, and in the show “In A Rhythmic Fashion” at Glyphotheque, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Zagreb, Croatia (both 2015).

A catalogue entitled What Now? was published by the DISTANZ Verlag in conjunction with the first exhibition by Carla Arocha & Stéphane Schraenen at the Galerie Isabella Czarnowska in 2013. The catalogue is available at the gallery as well as in bookstores worldwide.

Carla Arocha (b. 1961) was born in Caracas, Venezuela. From 1986 to 1990 she studied visual art at the Art Institute of Chicago, and subsequently she earned her master in fine arts at the University of Illinois. Her collaboration with the Belgian artist Stéphane Schraenen began in 2005. Carla Arocha lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium.

Stéphane Schraenen (b. 1971) was born in Antwerp, Belgium, where he lives and works. In 1996 he embarked on studies at the Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten van Antwerpen (Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts). He and the native Venezuelan Carla Arocha joined to form the artist duo “Carla Arocha & Stéphane Schraenen” in 2005.

The opening of the exhibition Trace featuring works by Carla Arocha & Stéphane Schraenen will take place on Friday, 1 May 2015, from 6 to 9 pm.
The artists will be present.