#7: Maria Justus +
Andreas Chwatal
2.3.–12.4.25
We cordially invite you and your friends to the opening of the project GROUNDFLOOR PLAYGROUND #7 on Saturday, March 1, 2025, at 5:00 pm.
Greeting: Jürgen Enninger, Head of Cultural Affairs of the City of Augsburg. Christian Thöner will talk to Maria Justus and Andreas Chwatal about their work as an introduction.
Greeting: Jürgen Enninger, Head of Cultural Affairs of the City of Augsburg. Christian Thöner will talk to Maria Justus and Andreas Chwatal about their work as an introduction.
The Kunstverein Augsburg's experimental GROUNDFLOOR PLAYGROUND project series is entering its seventh round. The artist Maria Justus (*1989), invited by the association, has found a sparring partner and collaborator of her choice in Andreas Chwatal (*1982).
Both are united by their approach of linking contemporary issues with their own biographies. And both draw on the formal source of art history. While Justus creates new images from a critical examination of ancient sculpture and its fragmented tradition in sampling, Chwatal builds his work cycles from stylistic echoes of different eras and reinterprets them.
The different artistic origins and working methods of the two players will also remain recognizable on the Playground: Justus' work, with which she gives expression to her poetic, painterly and political concerns, is based on conceptual ideas whose cross-media implementation often takes photography as its starting point. Chwatal, on the other hand, derives his thematic concepts from his approach to painting or drawing. What they both have in common, however, are motifs that transcend time as well as transformation and metamorphosis.
Both are united by their approach of linking contemporary issues with their own biographies. And both draw on the formal source of art history. While Justus creates new images from a critical examination of ancient sculpture and its fragmented tradition in sampling, Chwatal builds his work cycles from stylistic echoes of different eras and reinterprets them.
The different artistic origins and working methods of the two players will also remain recognizable on the Playground: Justus' work, with which she gives expression to her poetic, painterly and political concerns, is based on conceptual ideas whose cross-media implementation often takes photography as its starting point. Chwatal, on the other hand, derives his thematic concepts from his approach to painting or drawing. What they both have in common, however, are motifs that transcend time as well as transformation and metamorphosis.
So what will the togetherness, juxtaposition and superimposition on the playground on the first floor of the Kunstverein produce? A collaborative work. And a collage of photography, sculpture, drawing and painting that elicits new aspects from the Ovidian myth of Pygmalion and Galatea in a symbiotic narrative form.
Doesn't the attempt to artistically engage with one another and take on the role of the counterpart raise the same questions as Pygmalion's creation of his partner in the ancient myth? What image do we form of our counterpart? What defines it? What is understanding, what is projection, what is ideal? We are curious.
Doesn't the attempt to artistically engage with one another and take on the role of the counterpart raise the same questions as Pygmalion's creation of his partner in the ancient myth? What image do we form of our counterpart? What defines it? What is understanding, what is projection, what is ideal? We are curious.
Maria Justus (*1989 in Novosibirsk, USSR) spent most of her childhood and youth in Augsburg. In 2017, she completed her studies in painting and time-based media at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich. Her artistic practice encompasses a broad spectrum of media, ranging from painting and sculpture to video and photography. In her work, she explores transitions between past and future as well as questions of memory, imagination and historical narratives.
She has been awarded various prizes and grants for her work, including funding from the Stiftung Kunstfonds, the Steiner Foundation, the DAAD and the City of Munich. In 2024, she published her first catalog on the occasion of her solo exhibition at the Kunstverein GEDOK München e.V., which took place as part of her award as a debutante of the Bavarian Ministry of Science and Art.
In addition to her own artistic work, Maria Justus is also active as a curator and has been an artistic assistant at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich since 2021.
She has been awarded various prizes and grants for her work, including funding from the Stiftung Kunstfonds, the Steiner Foundation, the DAAD and the City of Munich. In 2024, she published her first catalog on the occasion of her solo exhibition at the Kunstverein GEDOK München e.V., which took place as part of her award as a debutante of the Bavarian Ministry of Science and Art.
In addition to her own artistic work, Maria Justus is also active as a curator and has been an artistic assistant at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich since 2021.
Andreas Chwatal (*1982 Regensburg) studied graphic art and painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and has worked primarily with the medium of drawing ever since. In his works, he combines impressions of everyday life with contemporary political and cultural events in graphic and poetic observations and addresses queer life. His work has been awarded prizes such as the Bavarian Art Promotion Prize (2017) and residency scholarships, including from the International Künstlerhaus Villa Concordia in Bamberg, the Centro Tedesco di Studi Veneziani (both in 2022), the USA Scholarship of the Free State of Bavaria and the Cité Internationale des Arts Paris (2014-2015). In 2023, he presented his works with guest artists in the exhibition Kurios at the Neue Residenz in Bamberg. Chwatal's works are part of numerous collections, e.g. the Collection of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus Munich, the Munich Re Art Collection and the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München. He is represented by Jo van de Loo, Munich. He currently lives and works in Berlin and Burglengenfeld.
Events:
Saturday, 1.3.25,
5:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
Current
We cordially invite you and your friends to the opening of the project GROUNDFLOOR PLAYGROUND #7 on Saturday, March 1, 2025, at 5:00 pm.
Greeting: Jürgen Enninger, Head of Cultural Affairs of the City of Augsburg. Christian Thöner will talk to Maria Justus and Andreas Chwatal about their work as an introduction.
The Kunstverein Augsburg's experimental GROUNDFLOOR PLAYGROUND project series is entering its seventh round. The artist Maria Justus (*1989), invited by the association, has found a sparring partner and collaborator of her choice in Andreas Chwatal (*1982).
Both are united by their approach of linking contemporary issues with their own biographies. And both draw on the formal source of art history. While Justus creates new images from a critical examination of ancient sculpture and its fragmented tradition in sampling, Chwatal builds his work cycles from stylistic echoes of different eras and reinterprets them.
The different artistic origins and working methods of the two players will also remain recognizable on the Playground: Justus' work, with which she gives expression to her poetic, painterly and political concerns, is based on conceptual ideas whose cross-media implementation often takes photography as its starting point. Chwatal, on the other hand, derives his thematic concepts from his approach to painting or drawing. What they both have in common, however, are motifs that transcend time as well as transformation and metamorphosis.
So what will the togetherness, juxtaposition and superimposition on the playground on the first floor of the Kunstverein produce? A collaborative work. And a collage of photography, sculpture, drawing and painting that elicits new aspects from the Ovidian myth of Pygmalion and Galatea in a symbiotic narrative form.
Doesn't the attempt to artistically engage with one another and take on the role of the counterpart raise the same questions as Pygmalion's creation of his partner in the ancient myth? What image do we form of our counterpart? What defines it? What is understanding, what is projection, what is ideal? We are curious.
Maria Justus (*1989 in Novosibirsk, USSR) spent most of her childhood and youth in Augsburg. In 2017, she completed her studies in painting and time-based media at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich. Her artistic practice encompasses a broad spectrum of media, ranging from painting and sculpture to video and photography. In her work, she explores transitions between past and future as well as questions of memory, imagination and historical narratives.
She has been awarded various prizes and grants for her work, including funding from the Stiftung Kunstfonds, the Steiner Foundation, the DAAD and the City of Munich. In 2024, she published her first catalog on the occasion of her solo exhibition at the Kunstverein GEDOK München e.V., which took place as part of her award as a debutante of the Bavarian Ministry of Science and Art.
In addition to her own artistic work, Maria Justus is also active as a curator and has been an artistic assistant at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich since 2021.
Andreas Chwatal (*1982 Regensburg) studied graphic art and painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and has worked primarily with the medium of drawing ever since. In his works, he combines impressions of everyday life with contemporary political and cultural events in graphic and poetic observations and addresses queer life. His work has been awarded prizes such as the Bavarian Art Promotion Prize (2017) and residency scholarships, including from the International Künstlerhaus Villa Concordia in Bamberg, the Centro Tedesco di Studi Veneziani (both in 2022), the USA Scholarship of the Free State of Bavaria and the Cité Internationale des Arts Paris (2014-2015). In 2023, he presented his works with guest artists in the exhibition Kurios at the Neue Residenz in Bamberg. Chwatal's works are part of numerous collections, e.g. the Collection of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus Munich, the Munich Re Art Collection and the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München. He is represented by Jo van de Loo, Munich. He currently lives and works in Berlin and Burglengenfeld.
Greeting: Jürgen Enninger, Head of Cultural Affairs of the City of Augsburg. Christian Thöner will talk to Maria Justus and Andreas Chwatal about their work as an introduction.
The Kunstverein Augsburg's experimental GROUNDFLOOR PLAYGROUND project series is entering its seventh round. The artist Maria Justus (*1989), invited by the association, has found a sparring partner and collaborator of her choice in Andreas Chwatal (*1982).
Both are united by their approach of linking contemporary issues with their own biographies. And both draw on the formal source of art history. While Justus creates new images from a critical examination of ancient sculpture and its fragmented tradition in sampling, Chwatal builds his work cycles from stylistic echoes of different eras and reinterprets them.
The different artistic origins and working methods of the two players will also remain recognizable on the Playground: Justus' work, with which she gives expression to her poetic, painterly and political concerns, is based on conceptual ideas whose cross-media implementation often takes photography as its starting point. Chwatal, on the other hand, derives his thematic concepts from his approach to painting or drawing. What they both have in common, however, are motifs that transcend time as well as transformation and metamorphosis.
So what will the togetherness, juxtaposition and superimposition on the playground on the first floor of the Kunstverein produce? A collaborative work. And a collage of photography, sculpture, drawing and painting that elicits new aspects from the Ovidian myth of Pygmalion and Galatea in a symbiotic narrative form.
Doesn't the attempt to artistically engage with one another and take on the role of the counterpart raise the same questions as Pygmalion's creation of his partner in the ancient myth? What image do we form of our counterpart? What defines it? What is understanding, what is projection, what is ideal? We are curious.
Maria Justus (*1989 in Novosibirsk, USSR) spent most of her childhood and youth in Augsburg. In 2017, she completed her studies in painting and time-based media at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich. Her artistic practice encompasses a broad spectrum of media, ranging from painting and sculpture to video and photography. In her work, she explores transitions between past and future as well as questions of memory, imagination and historical narratives.
She has been awarded various prizes and grants for her work, including funding from the Stiftung Kunstfonds, the Steiner Foundation, the DAAD and the City of Munich. In 2024, she published her first catalog on the occasion of her solo exhibition at the Kunstverein GEDOK München e.V., which took place as part of her award as a debutante of the Bavarian Ministry of Science and Art.
In addition to her own artistic work, Maria Justus is also active as a curator and has been an artistic assistant at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich since 2021.
Andreas Chwatal (*1982 Regensburg) studied graphic art and painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and has worked primarily with the medium of drawing ever since. In his works, he combines impressions of everyday life with contemporary political and cultural events in graphic and poetic observations and addresses queer life. His work has been awarded prizes such as the Bavarian Art Promotion Prize (2017) and residency scholarships, including from the International Künstlerhaus Villa Concordia in Bamberg, the Centro Tedesco di Studi Veneziani (both in 2022), the USA Scholarship of the Free State of Bavaria and the Cité Internationale des Arts Paris (2014-2015). In 2023, he presented his works with guest artists in the exhibition Kurios at the Neue Residenz in Bamberg. Chwatal's works are part of numerous collections, e.g. the Collection of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus Munich, the Munich Re Art Collection and the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München. He is represented by Jo van de Loo, Munich. He currently lives and works in Berlin and Burglengenfeld.
Events:
Saturday, 1.3.25,
5:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
Opening of the exhibition
Greeting: Jürgen Enninger, Head of Cultural Affairs of the City of Augsburg
Christian Thöner will talk to Maria Justus and Andreas Chwatal about their work as an introduction.
Greeting: Jürgen Enninger, Head of Cultural Affairs of the City of Augsburg
Christian Thöner will talk to Maria Justus and Andreas Chwatal about their work as an introduction.
