JULIUS VON BISMARCK. FIRE WITH FIRE

Always on the lookout for different forms of perception, Julius von Bismarck investigates man, nature and technology with the means of art.

In his work Egocentric System, he subjected himself to centrifugal forces by spending extended periods of time in a shallow, fast-spinning concrete bowl to explore and manipulate his own perceptions and those of the viewer. In Punishment, he flogged the sea in Rio de Janeiro, the Statue of Liberty in New York and the mountains in the Alps. He chased hurricanes in the US and tamed lightning bolts in Venezuela to explore the aesthetic aspects of the forces of nature. Von Bismarck processes these artistic expeditions into fascinating works. However mighty and devastating the elemental forces may be, in his work we become aware of the infinite beauty inherent in catastrophic events. The exhibition visualises the artist’s creative engagement with forest fires in a multimedia installation, sound and sculptures. The exhibition taps into our subconscious and presents a striking ‘psychoanalysis of fire.’

More info: https://www.bundeskunsthalle.de/en/exhibitions/current-exhibitions.html

Picture: Julius von Bismarck, Thank You Firefighters, 2019/2020, Video still, Courtesy the artist; alexander levy, Berlin; Sies+Höke, Düsseldorf and Marlborough Gallery, London/New York, © the artist / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2020