ROSA ELEFANT, ROSA ELEGANT
Earlier this year we did some new works for a solo show at Banana Gallery in Mannheim Germany. We were searching for a new thing, that could refresh our collaboration work as a team and as 44Flavours.
This time I came up with a couple of sketches, that were basically thought to be sculptures for the show in Mannheim. We also worked on some sculptures, but showed them later in Frankfurt at Kunstverein Montez (the show runs ’till the 6th of December). For the show in Mannheim we chose the title “Rosa elefant, rosa elegant” and decided to work on a series of works on A1 paper. Recently I have been really into working with an old airbrush machine, that I got from a friend; so I started to copy my sketches with airbrush on the bigger paper format, and asked Sebastian to react on it.
First he thought of working with screenprint on top of it, but eventually he ended up working with wood prints. He actually decided to copy my airbrushed drawings again and cut out the forms from wood. Afterward we did a three days printing session in the studio of our friend, the artist Jan Brokof, (thanks for that Jan). It was so great, the output was magic and we were very productive. We decided to make a series of just prints and another series where I would work on top of it with airbrush again. The process was so fullfiling. We later decided to ask our friend Jana Duda to write a text for our small exhibition catalogue for our show at banana gallery. Jana is a photographer and is doing her doctor in art history at the moment – we really appreciate her as a person and totally love exchanging thoughts with her about our work or exhibitions in general. When I asked Jana to write the text, she was on to it and we did a Skype session (I was in France by that time). Jana has known both of us for a while; we met her during our studies in Bielefeld and we actually studied together. Thanks a lot Jana for everything you did for us!
The exhibition was great! We produced a lot of works and still have some left, so we decided to sell a choice of 5 of the unique pieces exclusively on the I DO ART Webshop. There are still some other works that can be bought directly at our studio. Just send us a mail (jr@44flavours.de) and we will send you a pdf catalogue with all the works and the price list. – Julio Rölle.
Action and resonance: the dialogical work of 44Flavours
For more than ten years, Julio Rölle and Sebastian Bagge have been working closely together as graphic designers and artists. They are definitely rooted in graffiti, which is not only visible in style and technique but also in their light-hearted approach, their unshakeable DIY-attitude as well as their ability to improvise and turn every piece of paper, board, wood or fabric into a piece of art. Analogue is the motto: they saw and cut, paint and spray.
Their latest work is the result of a deliberately set break that followed the question of how to find back to that magic energy that has driven the duo for so many years. They wanted to deviate from worn-out approaches and develop new creative solutions. They wanted to escape the repetitious “Have you already …?” and “Yeah, sure.” They wanted to get back to “Hey! Wow! Very good!” The escape plan was to re-enter the artistic and non-verbal dialogue. For that, they hid in a studio for three days. Julio started the process by using sketches from another project and developed an air brush technique for paper. Sebastian continued in copying the forms and shapes into wood cut that he printed upon Julio’s paintings. As the final step they finished each piece with another layer of air brush. The results were strong and convincing and so the shared fun was rebuilt and the intense cooperation continues.
Despite of the creative dialogue between the two, these new works show another dialogical structure. One cannot dismiss a strong reference to artistic precursors; classic modernists like Picasso’s figures, Matisse’s forms and colors, Paul Klee’s graphical image build-up, the surrealistic spatiality of Georgio de Chirico’s Pittura metafisica or the geometrical physicality of Oskar Schlemmer’s costumes that he had designed for his Triadic ballet. However, 44Flavours are contemporary artists and therefore such inter-pictorial aspects should be read as a wink to art history. Both of them are aware of the tradition but do not consider it as a guiding star of their own artistic practice. Contemporary inspiration is more significant to them, such as the pixacao taggings that Julio discovered on a trip to Brazil. These taggings are almost illegible and they cover whole buildings in Brazil’s big cities. They should be read as subversive and political statements of marginalized groups and 44Flavours cited them in their air brush paintings.
Julio and Sebastian are living the dialogue. Not just the dialogue between each other but in commune with all the signs and forms of the visual culture that surrounds them and therefore shapes them. Their work is an example of how to incorporate historic references with a playful touch while integrating actual and global visual phenomena respectfully. - Jana Duda.
Airbrush wall painting at Banana Gallery:
Exhibition and vernissage at Banana Gallery:
44Flavours is a Berlin based art and design duo run by Julio Rölle and Sebastian Bagge. 44Flavours have contributed to idoart.dk since 2013.
