kernfusion / DEKERN, KERN anne, KERN steffen, BASELITZ goerg (painting, graphic, sculture, object)
14 April - 09 June 2018
Anne Kern, Thomas Kern, Steffen Kern, Georg Baselitz: The gallery FLOX presents the exhibition "Nuclear Fusion". It is a special exhibition: It focuses on the Kern family, whose most famous family member, Hans-Georg Kern, better known as Georg Baselitz, turned 80 in January. It goes back to the idea of Thomas Kern, the nephew of Georg Baselitz, and the FLOX Gallery in Kirschau. "We want to bring a part of the family together artistically, to confront them, to look at how they influenced each other artistically, how they went their own ways, where they stood, where paths were broken, how they benefited from the 'great Baselitz' and what 'rucksack' they still carry around with them today because of it", explains Hellfried Christoph, the director of the gallery, and at the same time emphasizes "We have no claim to completeness, we cannot fill that out, also because in the family there are not very simple relationships between the people". It is the attempt of the exhibition organizers to track down the "artistic gene of the cores" and present it in this hitherto unpracticed exhibition context. In addition to documentary elements, works by Thomas Kern, Steffen Kern, Anne Kern and Hansjürgen Schumann, the half-brother of Georg Baselitz, will be shown. Works by Baselitz will also be on display, including for the first time a painting from 1956, which he signed with his civil name. The early work does not show any trace of the provocation typical of Baselitz, but it does show a deep respect for one of his artistic role models of the time, Kasimir Malevich.
Thomas Kern, the co-initiator of the exhibition, who gave himself the artist name DEKERN, now lives and works near Bautzen and is under contract with the FLOX Gallery. "In Kamenz I was compared to my famous uncle. Near Bautzen I can work freely and undisturbed. In general, the family connection is more of a burden than an advantage, there is hardly any contact to the uncle", reports Thomas Kern. Born in Radeberg in 1970, the painter, graphic artist and sculptor has his studio in an old house directly on the Upper Lusatian heath and pond landscape biosphere reserve, with a view of the water of the surrounding ponds, wide meadows and small streams. This is where he withdraws to work, far away from the metropolises of the world, where he is also present. At the end of February Thomas Kern was at the Milan Fashion Week. There the new collection of the fashion label "Rockmädchen" of the designer Marion Roscher was presented. Together with his partner A. Weissenberg designed the fabrics. Anyway, if there are parallels to his uncle, then it is one: his versatility. Thomas Kern does not fit into any drawer, he paints, fills and sprays, works with sandstone and wood. The visual language of the autodidact is defiant, provocative, sometimes seemingly naive and demonstratively non-conformist. He has created his own intuitive style using a colourful mixed technique of spray cans, brushes, pens and inks. He experiments with backgrounds and materials, overpainting and destroying in order to let things emerge anew. This makes the context to the other members of the family and thus to the most famous core, Georg Baselitz, interesting.
Artist interview: Hellffied Christoph / Dresden + Musical accompaniment: Günter Heinz / trombone / Freiberg and Jörg Ritter / drums / Dresden