Franziska Furter

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Franziska Furter

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We have all the time in the world, 2005, ink on paper, 196 x 395cm,
even ever, Kunsthaus Baselland, Muttenz, foto Jeannette Mehr, courtesy Galerie Friedrich, Basel

More images: www.artnews.org/franziskafurter

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Franziska Furter

The first impression given by Franziska Furter's exhibitions is their sense of consistency and inner logic. Even if the meaning of individual objects has not yet revealed itself, one understands intuitively that the installation has been created as an integral environment with its own rhythms and dynamics.

This initial reading of Furter's work is, of course, informed partly by the artist's decision to restrict her palette almost exclusively to black and white. Whether in the earlier large-scale pen and ink drawings or the more recent objects made from black painted wood, plastic or crystal, the clean, sharp lines of her work create an immediate graphic quality that, in Furter's view, impacts more forcefully on the space the pieces inhabit than if they were in colour. Clearly delineated from their surroundings, the hard-edged contours of her monochrome forms define the space they occupy, automatically drawing in the negative or invisible spaces around them into the main body of the exhibition. Simultaneously, Furter's installations employ the white walls and pale floors as if these were the paper support for a drawing whilst focusing attention on the characteristics of the gallery itself. There is a constant shift between the two and three dimensional, between the objects that function as abstract drawings in space and the flat images that convey depth as though this had been formed on a computer screen.

This sense created in the viewer of moving through an unreal, invented space, such as a virtual environment or an architectural model, is informed in part by Furter's long-term interest in the aesthetic of comics, particularly mangas. One of her most important sources of found imagery, she combines different manga drawings, enlarging or stretching details to an oversized scale until they take on a life of their own. Just as several years ago manga comics inspired the landscape drawings that were an intriguing hybrid of nature and fantasy, their influence is currently felt in objects such as Chlumpae or Pitch, that are based on cartoon-like scribbles. The
manga backdrops appropriated for the pen and ink drawings were robbed of the protagonists and their speech bubbles. The objects in the current exhibition appear similarly as stranded remnants of an apocalyptic fantasy but in 3D form. In this exhibition Furter has largely abandoned the flat, static surface of walls for the more fluid space of the room, playing with the relationship between object and ground, light and shadow, and integrating the viewer more consciously into the environment of the installation.

Furter has also moved away from the clearly recognisble forests and ponds of the landscape drawings to more abstract forms, as though the vertical lines rising like electrical current from the landscape One More Breath, 2007 had peeled off the paper to take on a third dimension in nylon thread or black plastic. In this way, through hybrid forms, Furter extends the possibilities of drawing as a multi-layered translation from one medium or scale, into another. The installation at the Towner Gallery entitled Rift, for example, is both a replica of the pennants strung between houses during Ramadan that Furter experienced during her residency in Cairo in 2010 and also a line drawing in which the metamorphosis into severe black triangles abstracts the familiar form from its original source. Rift makes an important contribution to the experience of the exhibition as ambulatory rather than static; equally, through its associations with streets and crowds, the work brings the external, public sphere into the more intimate, interior space. Whereas Furter's pen and ink drawings on paper have a unique vantage point, there are many possible perspectives in this exhibition as the viewer is required to move around the various elements, looking up at and through Rift and down to the objects placed directly on the gallery floor. Curiously, this motion and physical interaction of the viewer is at odds with the still, silent quality of the exhibition, enhanced by the windowless architecture of the gallery space that excludes all external sound.

The even, overhead light of the Towner Gallery, filling the space, also intensifies the artificiality of Furter's installation, the sense of a constructed visual environment that inspired the artist to think of the exhibition as being similar to a Japanese garden, traditionally built for a variety of purposes, inviting quiet contemplation but also intended for recreation and the display of rare plants or unusual rocks. Just as the Japanese “Strolling Gardens” require the observer to walk through the garden to fully appreciate it, with a planned network of paths and strategically placed ornamentation, Furter's exhibition leads the viewer through a number of changing but subtlely linked experiences.

Franziska Furter is aware of the need in any constructed visual environment to seduce rather than coerce the participant into engaging with it. The apparently unambiguous monochrome forms of her work appeal immediately to the viewer's natural desire to make an initial assessment of the space they occupy; having won us over, the artist can risk playing with our perception of scale and relationship by shifting from macrocosm to microcosm, from entire galaxies to minute details, within the same pieces. Equally importantly in the new work, Furter employs materials in ways that make them appear, at least at first sight, as completely different substances. From the corner of your eye looks hard and spiky but is constructed from soft, black plastic; Kamikaze recalls all the connotations of wire mesh but is created from fine silver wire; and Pitch and Chlumpae appear to have the texture of wool but are made of thousands of knots of hard nylon thread. The black, white-veined pebbles, strewn amongst the Kamikaze, are exact pvc imitations of their natural source material. In comparison, the variously sized Rings, 2011, the only coloured objects in the exhibition, appear like comic-book versions of soap bubbles or reflections in puddles. The indeterminacy of the colours in Rings also draws attention to the ambivalent character of black, which is not only pure black but sometimes shiny silver, depending on its interaction with light. In this way the viewer is required to reassess anew the nature of each part of the exhibition whilst becoming accustomed to Furter's adeptness as a mistress of illusion and disguise. Apparently fragile materials are resilient and dense, and the reverse is also the case. Equally deceptive is the nature of the artist's working process. Kamikaze, Pitch and Chlumpae may look like the 3D materialisation of spontaneously scribbled doodles, but they are painstakingly produced through hours of intricate workmanship.

Kamikaze can be understood as a metaphor for the exhibition. An ancient Japanese word for “divine wind”, it essentialises the theme of movement that is momentary and fleeting, but also gives density and shape to the things it comes into contact with. As an object, Kamikaze is almost invisible from certain angles and like a shiny landscape or a snakeskin from another perspective. Like all Furter's work, it refuses to be pinned down by verbal description or contextualised in terms of reality. The apparently insubstantial and ephemeral turns out to have precision and resilience, like a breeze become form, a parallel universe glimpsed from the corner of the eye.

Felicity Lunn

Franziska Furter

1972 born in Zurich, Switzerland

Lives and works in Basel (ch) And Berlin, Germany

Grants

2012
Werkbeitrag, Kuratorium des Kantons Aargau
2009
Auslandatelier Paris, Kuratorium des Kantons Aargau
Auslandatelier Kairo, Pro Helvetia
2008
Cahiers d’artistes, ProHelvetia, Schweiz
Förderpreis, Alexander Clavel Stiftung, Riehen
2007
Förderpreis, Neue Aargauer Bank
2006
Werkbeitrag, Kuratorium des Kantons Aargau
2003
Auslandatelier London, Kuratorium des Kantons Aargau
2001
Prix Ehinger, Basel
1999
Auslandatelier Berlin, Kuratorium des Kantons Aargau
Auslandatelier Edinburgh, iaab, CMS Stiftung, Basel
1998
Kunststipendium des Kantons Basel-Stadt
1997
Förderbeitrag, Stiftung Vordemberge-Gildewart
1996/97
Förderbeitrag, Kuratorium des Kantons Aargau

Solo Exhibitions

2013
some echoes some shadows, Lichthaus, Arnsberg
2012
O B A F G K M L T, SCHLEICHERLANGE, Berlin
gyre, Les Halles, Porrentruy
2011
stray currents, Towner, Eastbourne
Hyle, Lullin+Ferrari, Zürich
2010
bow echo, galerie schleicher+lange, Paris
squall lines, Palais de Tokyo, Les Modules, Paris
Chapelle Saint-Quirin, Frac Alsace, Sélestat
2008
Spark Erosion, doggerfisher, Edinburgh
fleeting here, with Chris Cornish, galerie schleicher+lange, Paris
2007
drift, galerie schleicher+lange, Paris
2006
shades, Galerie Friedrich, Basel
crush, doggerfisher, Edinburgh
2005
elastic, Malmö
even ever, Kunsthaus Baselland, Muttenz
2004
can’t take my eyes off you, Landpartie, Zürich
um 27, Filiale, Basel
solid tremors, Galerie Friedrich, Basel
you said something, depot/ Hohlraum, Zürich
2003
go far go, mit Maya Rikli, Palazzo, Liestal
Still..., doggerfisher, Edinburgh
2000
hispaniola, sleeper, Edinburgh
wish i’d want to stay, enter, Kunstmuseum, Thun

Group Exhibitions

2013
Géométrie variable, Les Crayeres, Reims
Drawing Biennial 2013, Drawing Room, London
Variety 2: Margins and Circles, Lullin+Ferrari, Zürich
2012
Discours Général, Alpineum Produzentengalerie Luzern
Regionale 13, Kunstraum Riehen
Catch of the year, Dienstgebäude
Extended Drawing, CAB, Brüssel
Art and the City, Public Art Festival, Zürich
Ping-Pong, M54, Basel
Reflections from Nature, Songeun artspace, Seoul
Springende Lachse, Kunst(Zeug)haus, Rapperswil
2011
Der andere Blick, Museum Rehmann, Laufenburg
Voici un dessin suisse, 1990-2010, Kunsthaus Aarau
Drawn in, Travelling Gallery, Touring Bus, Scotland
En Piste!, Centre d'art contemporain, Chamarande
2010
Ellipse / Eclipse, Galerija Gregor Podnar, Berlin, with galerie schleicher+lange
Le décor à l'envers, La Filature, Scène National, Mulhouse, curator: Sophie Kaplan, CRAC Alsace
Voici un dessin suisse, 1990-2010, Musée Rath, Genève, curator: Julie Enckell Julliard
Résilience, Espace d'art contemporain la Tolerie, Clermont-Ferrand

2009
The answer is within you, Substitut, Berlin
Traces and Impressions, Lullin+Ferrari, Zürich
Drawing 2009 - Biennial Fundraiser, The Drawingroom, London
After dark, my sweet, oechsner galerie, Nürnberg
Three leap seconds later, Kunsthaus Grenchen
Instant Melancholia, Raum 121, Frankfurt
Pragmatismus&Romantismus, Fondation Ricard, Paris
2008
The Line is a Lonely Hunter, New Jerseyy, Basel
Kunstkredit, Kunsthaus Baselland, Muttenz
Glänz, Alexander Clavel Stiftung, Wenkenhof, Riehen
Full House, Galerie Friedrich, Basel
Nowhere is here, Aspex, Portsmouth/ The Drawing Room, London/ Frühsorge, Berlin
soft spot, 0047, Oslo
group show, elastic, Malmö
2007
Bordercross, Kunstraum, Baden
The Manga Generation, Kunst Raum Riehen
Plus, Stiftung Vordemberge-Gildewart, Museum Wiesbaden
dark matter, artnews projects, Berlin
Swiss art award, Basel
Drawing 2007 - Biennial Fundraiser, The Drawingroom, London
Ausgezeichnet!, Kunstverein Freiburg
2006
Auswahl 06, Aargauer KünstlerInnen, Kunsthaus Aarau (CH)
Erzählungen, -35/65+, Kunsthaus, Graz
Zeichnungen, Kulturzentrum, Nairs
Kunst am Schlossberg, Lenzburg
Vom Schweifen der Linien, Seedamm Kulturzentrum, Pfäffikon
2005
The Wrong Map, Three colts gallery, London
HYPER-DRAWING, Kunsthaus, Langenthal
2004
Solar Lunar, doggerfisher, Edinburgh
schwarz auf weiss, Kunstmuseum, Solothurn
a suivre..., galerie schleicher+lange, Paris
2003
anyway, Vebikus, Schaffhausen
2002
CHinA, Volpinum, Wien
Panama, Wohlen
ON PAPER 1, Galerie Friedrich, Basel
2001
substrat.01/ oberfläche.struktur, Neurotitan, Berlin
Greetings from Liverpool, protoacademy, Bluecoat, Liverpool
A Walk to the End of the World, Foksal Gallery Foundation, Warschau
2000
Transitory Cooperation, curated by Luca Frei, eca, Edinburgh
apartment, project by protoacademy, Edinburgh
Raumkörper/ Netze und andere Gebilde, Kunsthalle, Basel

2000/05/06/07/09/12
Auswahl, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau
2002/03
Regionale3, Regionale4, Kunsthaus Baselland, Muttenz
2000/01
Regionale1, Regionale2, Kunsthalle, Basel

Projects

Kunst im öffentlichen Raum/ Projekte:
2012 Eingeladener Wettbewerb, Hirzbrunnenschulhaus, Kunstkredit Basel
2011 Edition, Les Halle, Porrentruy
2010 Eingeladener Wettbewerb, Ayurvedazentrum Loosdorf, Österreich
2009 Eingeladener Wettbewerb, Präsidialdepartement Kanton Basel-Stadt, Abteilung Kultur, Basel, ausgeführt
2008 Eingeladener Wettbewerb, Kunstplattform, Basel, ausgeführt
2007 Edition, www.kurator.ch, Gebert Stiftung, Rapperswil
2006 Eingeladener Wettbewerb, ref Kirche, Binningen-Bottmingen
2005 Eingeladener Wettbewerb, Nordtangente-Kunsttangente, Basel
2004 Kunstwettbewerb Schulanlagen, Zürich
2002 Eingeladener Wettbewerb Schulanlage Gelterkinden

Collections

Kunsthaus Aarau
Credit Swiss, Zürich
Bundesamt für Kultur BAK, Bern
Hotel Krafft, Basel
Roche, Basel
Raiffeisenbank, Reinach
UBS collection, London
Contemporary Art Society, Edinburgh
The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection , MoMA
Kunstkredit Basel Landschaft
Kunstkredit Basel-Stadt

Bibliography

Publicationen:
Switzerland in SongEun, Reflections from Nature, SongEun ArtSpace, Seoul, Korea, 2012
Extende Drawing, CAB, Brüssel, Text by Pierre-Olivier Rollin, 2012
Art and the City, A Public Art Project in Zurich, JRP Ringier, Text by Christiane Rekade, 2012
Drawing Project, An Exploration of the Language of Drawing, authors: Mick Maslen and Jack Southern, black dog publishing, London, 2011
stray currents, Towner, Eastbourne, T: Felicity Lunn, 2011
Cahiers d’artistes, ProHelvetia, Editioni Periferia, Luzern-Poschiavo, T: Melissa Gronlund, 2009
Kurator 2007/08, Jahresprogramm Illustrationen, Gebert Stiftung Rapperswil
Plus, StipendiatInnen, Stiftung Vordemberge-Gildewart, Museum Wiesbaden
Ausgezeichnet, 2007, Kunstverein Freiburg, T: Felicity Lunn
Erzählungen, -35/65+, 2006, Kunsthaus Graz, T: Katrin Bucher, Katia Schurl
even ever, 2005, Kunsthaus Baselland, Muttenz
Hyperdrawing, 2005, Kunsthaus Langenthal, T: Marianne Burki
schwarz auf weiss, 2004, Kunstmuseum, Solothurn, T: Katharina Ammann
Die ewigen Jagdgründe, 2002, Museum zu Allerheiligen, Schaffhausen, T: M.Stegmann
Franziska Furter, 2001, Kunsthalle Basel, T: A. Finlay, J. Müller, T. Zulauf
zartjunge surrogate, 2000, mit M. Heldstab und E. Oderbolz, T: Christina Vegh

Bibliographie:
Franziska Furter at Lullin + Ferrari, review by Aoife Rosenmeyer in Art in America online
«Bow Echo» und «Squall lines», Jens Emil Sennewald, Kunst-Bulletin, nr 5, 2010
Eva Scharrer, ‘Die andere Realität’,Kunstmagazin, www.regioartline.org, Juni 2008
Expanded Drawing, nyartsmagazine.com, may/june 2007
Franziska Furter at Schleicher+Lange, Paris, Art in America, David Coggins, spring 2007
Julia Peker, www.paris-art.com/expo_detail-3799-furter.html, january 07
Karen N. Gehrig, ‘In einer Galaxie, weit, weit entfernt’, Bazkulturmagazin, 19.1.06
Eva Scharrer, ‘Shades’, www.regioartline.org, Januar 06
Karen N. Gehrig, ‘Quelle des Lavastroms’, ‘solid tremors’, Galerie Friedrich, Basler Zeitung, S. 24/25, 23.9.04
Eva Scharrer, ‘Vom Verschwinden und Erscheinen’, ‘solid tremors’, Galerie Friedrich, www.regioartline.org, 3.9.04
Simon Baur, ‘Dialogisches Prinzip’, Kunst-Bulletin nr. 9, S.34/35, September 2004
Giles Sutherland, ‘Graphite artist’, ‘Still...’, doggerfisher, sunday herald, 25.5.03
Iain Gale, ‘Less is much more in the eye of the beholder prepared to look beyond first impressions’, ‘Still...’, doggerfisher, scotland on sunday, 18.5.03
Marion Benz, ‘Wintermärchen’, ‘go far go’ mit Maya Rikli, Basler Zeitung, 30.1.03
Fanny Fetzer, ‘Franziska Furter, Das Gesicht’, du, S. 6, 7/ 2001

Links

www.lullinferrari.com
www.schleicherlange.com
www.galeriefriedrich.ch
www.doggerfisher.com

www.periferia.ch/index.php?idcatside=5&sid=12b445b23c98f82302806cd1685c587a

Franziska Furter

Lullin+Ferrari
Limmatstrasse 214
CH-8005 Zürich

+41 (0)43 205 2607
+41 (0)43 205 2608
info@lullinferrari.com
www.lullinferrari.com

SCHLEICHER/LANGE
Markgrafenstrasse 68
10969 Berlin

+49 (0)30 955 92 917
+49 (0)30 955 92 918
info@schleicherlange.com
www.schleicherlange.com

Galerie Friedrich
Erika und Otto Friedrich
Grenzacherstrasse 4
CH-4058 Basel
Schweiz

+41 (0)61 683 50 90
+41 (0)61 683 50 91
galerie-friedrich@bluewin.ch
www.galeriefriedrich.ch