AW–16
Research focused on the sculptural quality of religious habits and, as always, the life-jackets and uniforms worn by the British army during World War II. The performative sculptures by influential German artist Franz Erhard Walther were also a key reference. Since the early sixties, Walther has posed fundamental questions about the conventional idea of the artwork as a fixed pedestal- or wall- bound ‘thing’. From 1978 up to 1986 he conceived a unique series of installations that he named 'wallformations,' made using sheets of canvas and basic clothing patterns. The largest piece from the series entitled Wallform Gelbmodellierung (1980/81) was shown at Art Basel Unlimited 2015. Encouraged by its dramatic scale, economic use of colour (a luminous yellow) and minimalist rigour, BERTHOLD AW16 shows how clothing can encase the body in an uncomplicated, free way.