Shila Khatami, Top Spin, Galerie Susanna Kulli, Zürich
Shila Khatami
Topspin
February 20–March 30, 2010
Galerie Susanna Kulli, Dienerstrasse 21, CH-8004 Zürich;
Tel 043 243 33 34, Fax 043 243 33 35
Hours: Tue–Fri 1pm–6pm, Sat 11am–4pm
Opening: Friday, February 19, starting at 6.pm
The Berlin-based artist Shila Khatami (b. 1976) presents Topspin, her second solo exhibition at Galerie Susanna Kulli.
“Topspin” is a tennis term for a widely use forehand and backhand shot. Hitting the ball with an up-and-forward swing lends it a forward spin; it flies high above the net and then steeply descends, only to bounce back from the ground just as steeply and high. The extreme angles that can be played with such highly arched trajectories ideally drive the opponent far from his court, enabling the player to prepare for an attack.
The hanging arranged by the artist is not the only feature of the exhibition that recalls this sort of exchange of shots. On the level of content, too, the visitor recognizes a complex variety of references. The perforation pattern in the particleboards on which she paints already contains the circular shapes that become active pictorial elements in works such as Oops! and 99 x 66.
The triangle acts with no less self-confidence. Whereas Heissluft [Hot Air] integrates it into the pictorial plane, it rises out of this plane in Kawasaki and finally emancipates itself, in the shape of the Rechendreieck [Calculation Triangle], into a support for straight lines in search of a network.
This play with the qualities of different colors and surfaces is a characteristic feature of Khatami’s creative work. The works on exhibition also show great diversity in the gestural application of paint. In addition to the searching lines mentioned above, there are also flowing, resolute, and dissipating brushstrokes.
Sophie Taeuber-Arp’s arrangement of luscious spheres and fragile lines in the oil painting Steigend, fliegend, fallend [Rising, Flying, Falling] (1934, Kunstmuseum Basel) inspired Khatami’s 2007 installation SOX. Taeuber-Arp’s balanced use of shape, color, and rhythm is equally in evidence in Khatami’s recent works.
We would be delighted to see you at the gallery and invite you to join us for the opening on February 19, 2010, starting at 6.pm
1999–2004 Fine Arts, Academy of Arts Düsseldorf, with Helmut Federle.
1997–1999 Fine Arts, Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, with Axel Kasseböhmer.
Exhibitions (selection): 2009:Eine Audiotour durch Berlin von Karin Sander, Temporäre Kunsthalle Berlin; Bank of Eden, Whitechapel, Berlin; Kwadrat Berlin; Dein Land macht Kunst; Saarlandmuseum, Saarbrücken; 2008: ping pong, Clages Köln; bits and pieces“, Galerie Susanna Kulli, Zürich;
2007: „Welcome to our Neighbourhood“, Casino Luxembourg - Forum d’Art Contemporain, Luxembourg; " flying dots", SOX Berlin; "Der Pinselhieb der Natur oder Die betrogene Fläche", KIT, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf; 2006: "Hotel Kristall", Galerie Aurel Scheibler, Köln; "open source", raum 500, München; 2005: "Es werde heller", Rosengarten, Berlin.