Wilhelm Klotzek
Goethe/Gasworks Residency 2014

Wilhelm Klotzek uses sculpture, text and spoken word as interchangeable forms of narration and storytelling. He situates his work within the context of growing up in the former GDR and during its dissolution, often drawing on the structural and social divisions that still prevail.

Activating a given space or a set of objects into dialogue, the artist performs part factual, part fictional accounts that examine the German history and language. This can be seen in his installation Das architektonische Trio (2012) where he plays three different parodies of cultural figures critiquing the changing urban landscape and the politics of architecture. In this as in his other works, Klotzek uses forms of interplay to humorously probe national and personal identity.
 
During his residency at Gasworks, Wilhelm further explored the use of humour in his practice, positing stand-up comedy as an absurd form of performance art. With the artist’s German native tongue shaping much of his practice, Klotzek experimented with the use of English and to what extend it affected his work: He worked on a English translation of one of his texts, Cans And Real Wood Blinds, which he then performed during the Gasworks Open Studio Weekend.

Wilhelm Klotzek lives and works in Berlin, Germany. He has exhibited widely in Germany including: Atlas at Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn (2013), Danke ....Ende at M1 Arthur Boskamp Sti!ung, Hohenlockstedt (2012), Freitag der dreizehnte at Diplomausstellung, Haus am Oranienplatz, Berlin (2012), Poststudio Tales at District-Kunststi!ung, Berlin (2012), Focus academy at Preview artfair, Berlin (2012).
 
See more about his work on his website and read what he thinks about comedy as art in this interview.
 
The residency took place from April to June 2014.
 
A collaboration between Gasworks and the Goethe-Institut London.

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