Per Hüttner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Framed Colour Photograph Mounted on Dibond
Framed Colour Photograph Mounted on Dibond
Framed Colour Photograph Mounted on Dibond
Per Hüttner is a Swedish artist who lives and works in Paris, France. Hüttner was born in Oskarshamn, Småland on 11 February 1967. He graduated from Konsthögskolan in Stockholm 1993. He also studied at Hochschule der Künste in Berlin 1991-1992. He was one of the founders of the non-profit galleries Konstakuten in Stockholm and The Hood Gallery in Los Angeles. He has published several books on his work and contemporary art inluding "I am a Curator", 2004 and "Repetitive Time" in 2006.
Contents |
[edit] Artistic Approach
Hüttner first got international recognition for his "Jogging in Exotic Cities" (1999- 2001) in which the artist can be seen in large scale photographs jogging through cities that appear exotic to an occidental audience. He plays on the notion of documentary photography and staged photography. In this work he draws inspiration from twentieth-century artists and photographers such as Jeff Wall and Yves Klein. The work makes the artist stand out of the crowd and be alienated at the same time as he is along with the few western logotypes.
In 2004 he started working on an untitled series of photographs where he created shrines of commemoration in busy street corners of urban centres around the world. By simply lighting a few candles, arranging flowers, babies' clothes and photographs he creates something which pertains to an inner reality. In the catalogue text to his 2006 exhibition "Xiao Yao You" at the Guangdong Museum of Art in Guangzhou, curator, Zhang Wei writes:
"Ceaseless movement is not a way of gaining ever more exotic knowledge of the world; it is rather a way of cleaning out and rediscovering the self. This is what I see in Per’s work. When I face his images, the reality presented in them seems less a true physical reality than an invisible psychological one. I see a negotiation and dialogue between the artist’s inner and outer worlds. In this psychological landscape, he describes his worries, his pursuit of human sentiment, and his insistent rejection of a stylized or superficial life. It makes me think of the Chinese philosopher Zhuang Zi’s idea of xiao yao you or “moving carelessly.” This philosophy does not only detail how to move freely across physical space, but is also a metaphor for how humans can transcend different kinds of obstacles and achieve a freedom of the spirit."
In 2006 Hüttner has embarked on a series of work entitled "Rebirth", which even more deeply on an journey in the interior of the human soul and how it is shaped by society. He particularly draws inspiration from the Spanish painter Francisco Goya and Russian film maker Andrei Tarkovsky. In the catalogue text to the exhibition "Democracia y Deseo" the work is discussed:
"This is also why the ultimate commodity is not seen its normal guise in 'Rebirth Spain'. It is dressed in wet, white cloth and the doors are swung open to make it look like an angel of death. With great freedom comes great danger and nothing could visualise this double pull more clearly than the car which gives you the freedom of movement and speed, but also the threat of a violent and sudden death. In the photograph the car has becomes a snake that has outgrown its skin. But like a child it refuses to accept its power and wears its snake-skin to cover itself from the potential that is inherent in its being – just like most of us do in our lives. We have the freedom to expand our horizons, but it is the inner forces that censor us from taking the leap. The outer limitations are far weaker than those that invisibly lead their existence in our hearts. But to label this self-censorship fear, complacency, ignorance or ruled by social conventions would be far too simple. It is in fact all of them plus innumerable other factors that all push us towards immobility and only hunger or literal bondage that seem to be able to push us over the edge as for instance was the case with the great wave of emigration from Europe to North America in the late 19th century. "
[edit] Selected Solo Exhibitions
- "Xiao Yao You", Guandong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China (2006)
- "Tundro", Contemporary Art Gallery, National Museum, Szczecin, Poland (2006)
- "Repetitive Time", Göteborgs Konstmuseum, Gothenburg, Sweden (2006)
- "Democracia y Deseo", Vacio 9, Madrid, Spain (2006)
- "Per Hüttner", Xposeptember, Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden (2005)
- "I Am a Curator", Chisenhale Gallery, London, UK (2003)
[edit] Selected Group Exhibitions
- "Art is always somewhere else", International Biennial of Young Artists, Bucharest, Romania (2006)
- "20 Years!", Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden (2006)
- "Copy-Art.net", ICA, London, UK (2004)
- "BIDA 2003", Centro de Arte de Salamanca, Spain (2003)
- "Slowdive", Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, USA (2002)
- "Fasten Seatbelts", Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna, Austria (1998)
