Stefan Brüggemann first exhibition at Hauser & Wirth

New York. From 29 June 2016, Hauser & Wirth presents an exhibition of new paintings by the Mexico City and London-based artist Stefan Brüggemann. Spanning – and sometimes combining – sculpture, video, painting, and drawing, Brüggemann’s work deploys text in conceptual installations rich with acerbic social critique and a post-pop aesthetic. This will be Brüggemann’s first exhibition with Hauser & Wirth, and will fill the gallery’s East 69th Street townhouse with site-specific extensions of two of his best known, ongoing series: Headlines and Last Line in the Movies and Timeless.

On the gallery’s ground floor, Brüggemann will install ‘Headlines and Last Line in the Movies (Wall)’ (2016), a new work for his signature series Headlines and Last Line in the Movies, initiated in 2009. The installation will consist of the final lines of dialogue from such classic films as Citizen Kane (1941), spray painted onto contiguous mirrored panels and overlaid with headlines drawn from news stories published by major media outlets during the week in which the work is made.

Brüggemann will complement ‘Headlines and Last Line in the Movies (Wall)’ with a similar installation on the third floor, where texts will be painted onto marble panels – a first use of the material by the artist. Brüggemann’s intention with the Headlines and Last Line series is to juxtapose reality and fiction in a way that throws myths into high relief: In the era of instantaneous global communication and citizen journalism, the products of the news media and the movie industry are parallels and fraternal twins that reflect our culture’s desires while manipulating and distorting our comprehension of society.

On the gallery’s second floor, visitors will find ‘Timeless (69th Street, NYC)’ (2016), the latest addition to another ongoing conceptual series by Brüggemann. Time Paintings feature a grid of individual mirrors appliquéd with black and white vinyl texts – original text by the artist appears in black letters in the Arial font, while appropriated text appears handwritten – swathed with aluminum paint. ‘Timeless (69th Street, NYC)’ is Brüggermann’s anxious articulation of a contemporary society in which time has accelerated to the point at which it is no longer perceived as linear, and dissolves into abstraction.

Stefan Brüggemann

Hauser & Wirth

New York, 69th Street

29 June – 29 July 2016