Uwe Bressnik. SHIFTING LINES. Grooves. Rasters. Rhythms

Uwe Bressnik’s art is situated at the intersections where familiar media transcend their classical boundaries. For decades, the Villach-born and Vienna-based artist has been forging an oeuvre that brings together painting, graphic art, picture-object, sculpture, and installation. His works are fuelled by the examination of different cultural worlds, such as music, new media, and sports. They challenge traditional ways of viewing and invite us to read the grammar of perception afresh. A central leitmotif in Bressnik’s work is the transformation of sound into a visual form. His numerous bodies of work around the record motif make him a ‘record producer’ in the figurative sense. He liberates the classical medium from its purely acoustic function, translating it into a free and frequently humorous type of object art. The discs, circles, and grooves become autonomous shapes, which change their dimensions, bend, stack up, line up, and conquer the room. The result is a fascinating audiography of the visual – an art heard by the eye. At the same time, his mesh and raster works see Bressnik examining the interplay of analogue tradition and digital present and dealing with the transformation of visual perception initiated by digital visual creations. By putting layers of mundane gauze fabrics on top of each other with great precision, he creates Moiré effects that haptically simulate the flicker of modern screens. He transfers the achievements of Op Art and Constructivism into a contemporary media discourse. Spanning seven rooms, this exhibition offers a comprehensive glimpse into an artistic cosmos carried by conceptual rigour just as much as it is by playful freedom and subtle humour. Bressnik demonstrates that art is an open, resonant system where it is vital to keep changing tracks!