Press Release
Björn Dahlem - Starburst (Supernova Remnant)
9 November 2021 – 28 February 2022
Artist
Björn Dahlem (* 1974 Munich) is a renowned sculptor. His works have been presented in numerous exhibitions in excellent museums in Germany and abroad. He is a professor of sculpture, object, and installation at the Bauhaus University in Weimar. Dahlem lives and works in Potsdam-Krampnitz.
In his works and installations, Dahlem addresses physical and cosmic phenomena beyond our imagination such as black holes, supernovae, high-speed stars, wormholes, quarks, and rays. In his sculptural images he processes findings in the areas of astronomy, particle physics or quantum mechanics and he often links highly complex scientific constructs with the aesthetics of everyday life on earth.
Dahlem constructs his multi-layered and humorous sculptures and installations from simple materials such as wooden slats, light bulbs, fluorescent lamps, carpeting and found objects.
Exhibition
In nw9, Dahlem presents Starburst (Supernova Remnant) a site-specific installation filling in the entire gallery space – made of wood, surrounded by light objects and a black hole.
Starburst is the concept of an explosive creation of stars. Supernova Remnant, on the other hand, the astronomical term for an event at the end of a star's life; another powerful explosion takes place triggering a tremendous shock wave of cosmic radiation.
Supernovae are the brightest explosions in the universe. Dahlem's installation condenses the event – cosmic light, its radiation in space and the explosions – in a poetic composition that invites its viewers to reflect about space and time.
nw9
nw9 is an exhibition and project space sponsored by Stiftung Kunstwissenschaft Köln, a charitable foundation.
The building was designed by the architect Professor Erwin Zander, who now lives in Berlin, for the collector couple Michael and Eleonore Stoffel. In 1971 it was awarded the architecture prize of the city of Cologne.
The building is an icon of brutalism in the middle of an inhospitable urban landscape, characterized by busy streets with heavy traffic and intersecting rail lines.
As a result of a frameless glass construction of its windows nw9’s interior and exterior merge together and enable unique presentations in a semi-public space.
In the future, nw9 will present regularly first-class art. Its presentations address not only art lovers, but also a less drawn to art, including passers-by, people waiting at the bus stops, etc.
contact
nw9 is open Fridays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment.
For appointments, please contact info@nw9.space.
nw9
Kunstraum der Stiftung Kunstwissenschaft Köln
Neue Weyerstraße 9
50676 Köln