Anne Wenzel & Charlotte Schleiffert

In the duo show Beyond Context, AKINCI unites two artists who’s work cannot be taken lightly. A certain violence applies to both, each drawn to the subject in her own distinct manner. Where Anne Wenzel (1972, Schlüttorf, DE) fearlessly diverts the tradition of ceramics into remarkable sculptures with a brutal sense of decay, Charlotte Schleiffert (1967, Tilburg, NL) addresses crude social themes with a discomforting elegance in a range of mixed media on canvas. Rather than a dialogue, their individual voices clash and confront one another, challenging the viewer to rethink their spectacle and, instead, become sensible to the pressing subjects that linger beyond.

In Beyond Context, Anne Wenzel’s monumental florals are displayed. The wreaths, a universal symbol for celebration and the commemoration of war, are frozen in a state of decay. Their blossoms have withered, the colour is leaking down their stems. The ceremony is over (or doomed to begin with). Wenzel: “Everyone knows that the sites where memorial services are held and the rituals they involve are contrived and designed in order to stir people’s emotions. I am interested in the personal choice that the individual makes in regard to these mechanisms.” Drawing her inspiration from art-historical tradition, Wenzel is intrigued by the symbolic language behind heroism and violence, and the extravagant spectacle that tends to accompany these subjects. Her sculptures are often described as modern-day Vanitas, subsequently undermining their own heroic aura.

Committed to the social and political movements of our global society in general, Charlotte Schleiffert has no intention to compromise or subdue the stories and situations that her paintings refer to, sometimes literally summarized on the canvas with handwritten text. Crude themes are addressed with dynamic brush strokes, life size figures poised with a striking elegance. Abstraction and figuration seem impulsively composed, using a broad combination of media treatment (oil, acrylic, egg tempera, pastel, foil…). With bursting colour Schleiffert depicts the opposition between poverty and wealth, the friction between religions, the immeasurable impact of both male and female rape—strangely glamorous and heart wrenching at once. Throughout all paintings the underlying desperation for love, protection and luxury is both hopeful and unsettling.

Both Anne Wenzel and Charlotte Schleiffert have been selected for the film series ‘Dutch Masters of the 21st Century’. Their film portraits will be screened during a special festival on the 23rd of January 10:00—01:00 in EYE Film Museum, Amsterdam. Wenzel’s portrait will premiere at 19:15, after the opening at AKINCI.

Anne Wenzel (1972 Schlüttorf, Germany) studied at the Academy for Visual Arts in Enschede (NL). Her work is currently on display at a.o. CERAMIX at Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht and will later go to Maison Rouge, Paris. Starting February 20th, Wenzel will have an exhibition at Void Contemporary Art Gallery, Derry (solo). Previous solo shows include Rijksmuseum Twenthe (2015); TENT Rotterdam (curated by Daria de Beauvais, 2014); Villa Roth, Germany (2010), Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam (2010); Stedelijk Museum Den Bosch (2008); Kunstvereniging Diepenheim (2007); Buro Leeuwarden (2006) and The Agency, London (2006). Wenzel participated in group exhibitions at Hetjens Museum Düsseldorf (2015); Bornholm Art Museum (European Ceramic Context, 2014); Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam (Collection Presentation, 2013); Stedelijk Museum ’s Hertogenbosch (Collection presentation, 2013); Stedelijk Museum Schiedam (Collection Presentation, 2013); Carré St-Anne, Montpellier (‘Sign of the times’ curated by Richard Leydier, 2013); La Galerie des Galeries (‘Into the Woods’ curated by Daria de Beauvai); Fondation Ricard, Paris (2011); Shepparton Art Gallery—award (2010), Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art, Ghent (2008) and Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam (2007). Her works are in many private and public collections: the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam; Stedelijk Museum Schiedam; Stedelijk Museum s’Hertogenbosch; S.M.A.K Ghen;, Frac Auvergne; Clermont-Ferrand a.o.. Wenzel is one of the artists filmed for the ongoing series ‘Dutch Masters of the 21st Century’. She lives and works in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Charlotte Schleiffert (1967, Tilburg, NL) was trained at Ateliers ’63 in Haarlem (1990-1992), and was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1999 (first prize). She completed various residencies in China (CEAC, 2003), Germany (Kunstlerhaus Bethanien, 2007-8), France (Atelier Holsboer, 2012) and Indonesia (Cemeti Arthouse, 2013). She had numerous solo exhibitions at AKINCI, Amsterdam, several shows at Annie Gentils Gallery, Antwerp, and exhibited a.o. at Heden, The Hague (2013); Barbara Gross Gallery, Munich (2013); Museum Het Domein, Sittard (2011); Pictura, Dordrecht (2011); Kunstverein Glückstadt, Germany (2006), Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam (2004), Muka, Auckland (2003); Chinese European Art Centre, Xiamen (2003) and Pickled Art Centre, Beijing (2003). She participated in group exhibitions at Stedelijk Museum Schiedam (2013); Cité Internationale des Arts (2012); De Paviljoens, Almere (2012); Centraal Museum Utrecht (2010); ‘Rebelle’, Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Arnhem (2009); Cultural Center Montehermoso (2008) and several times at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Her works are in many private and public collections, a.o. Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, Museum Het Domein, Sittard, Museum of Modern Art Arnhem, Foundation Endowment De Buitenplaats, Eelde (NL) etc. Schleiffert is one of the selected artists filmed for the ongoing series ‘Dutch Masters of the 21st Century’. She lives and works in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.