Clara Lena Langenbach, made-to-measure (Installation view). Sharp Projects, 2022. Photo: Bjarke Johansen.
Press release, october 2022
Made-to-measure is a solo exhibition with works by Clara Lena Langenbach. The made-to-measure sculpture series are found objects called Stumme Diener (German) or Stumtjener (Danish), directly translated to silent or mute servant. Stumme Diener are most commonly referred to as a clothes valet or valet stand and are used to properly hang garments in homes, hotels and restaurants. Langenbach’s previous studies in Fashion Design and Fine Arts informed her when fitting and dressing these furniture pieces, transforming their frame-like form into a body.
Each valet stand is clothed with fabric in designs that are reminiscent of clothing we wear including an orangish-pink puffer jacket, a quilted jacket, an apron, and a white hotel robe with bouclé knit socks on the base of the stand. One of the first known Stumme Diener was a personal servant that was then converted into a figurative Roman statue of a human body holding a serving tray. Langenbach treats these presumed bodies as beings, they are no longer deemed as devices for labor as its name suggests. The slight outlier displayed in the exhibition window is also a type of mute servant, but it is typically used for holding a wine bottle, fitted with a made-to-measure sweater.
Clara Lena Langenbach, made-to-measure E, 2021 (Iron valet stand, terry cloth fabric, bouclé knit fabric. 162 x 74 x 80 cm). Photo: Bjarke Johansen.
Clara Lena Langenbach, made-to-measure E, 2021 (Iron valet stand, terry cloth fabric, bouclé knit fabric. 162 x 74 x 80 cm). Photo: Bjarke Johansen.
Clara Lena Langenbach, made-to-measure (Installation view). Sharp Projects, 2022. Photo: Bjarke Johansen.
Clara Lena Langenbach, made-to-measure D, 2021 (Wood valet stand, quilt fabric. 85 x 79 x 32 cm). Photo: Bjarke Johansen.
Clara Lena Langenbach, made-to-measure D, 2021 (Wood valet stand, quilt fabric. 85 x 79 x 32 cm). Photo: Bjarke Johansen.
Artist Statement: In my work I deal with cross-system or system-changing translation processes in relation to the human body. I am particularly interested in the space of possibility. What can be gained and lost during this process and what will be created? What is actually there? How is it presented and contextualized? How can it be read? This glitch moment is often the starting point for my research informing my sculpture and installations.
Clara Lena Langenbach, made-to-measure (Installation view). Sharp Projects, 2022. Photo: Bjarke Johansen.
Clara Lena Langenbach, made-to-measure f, 2021 (Metal valet stand, quilted fabric. 116 x 51 x 30 cm). Photo: Bjarke Johansen.
Clara Lena Langenbach, made-to-measure f, 2021 (Metal valet stand, quilted fabric. 116 x 51 x 30 cm). Photo: Bjarke Johansen.
Clara Lena Langenbach, made-to-measure g, 2018 (Metal valet stand, marble, stretch fabric. 100 x 38 x 48 cm). Photo: Bjarke Johansen.
Clara Lena Langenbach, made-to-measure g, 2018 (Metal valet stand, marble, stretch fabric. 100 x 38 x 48 cm). Photo: Bjarke Johansen.
Clara Lena Langenbach, made-to-measure (Installation view). Sharp Projects, 2022. Photo: Bjarke Johansen.
Clara Lena Langenbach, I was here, 2022 (1/5 Edition. Photo print, acrylic glass. Hand, butterfly meconium. 15 x 20 x 2 cm). Photo: Bjarke Johansen.
Clara Lena Langenbach, made-to-measure a, 2022 (Metal (gold) valet stand, fabric. 20 x 20 x 16 cm). Photo: Bjarke Johansen.
Clara Lena Langenbach studied at the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg. Exhibitions include Galerie Wassermühle Trittau, Kunsthaus Hamburg, and Westwerk; she has also exhibited in Small Sculptures and 10 works, Sharp Projects inaugural show. Langenbach was awarded the Zukunfts Stipendium (Hamburger Kulturstiftung), the Deutschlandstipendium (Gisela Könk Grant) and the DAAD-Welcome-Stipendium.
Opening: Friday October 14, from 5-8 pm.
Exhibition period: October 14 - November 11, 2022.
Opening hours: Open by appointment.
Supported by Spiegelberger Stiftung.