Artist Talk:
Enrico David
Destroyed Men Come and Go
- 11 June 23, 3 pm
In English
Venue: KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Studio
Registration via reservation@kw-berlin.de
As part of his first institutional solo exhibition in Germany, Enrico David will be in conversation about Destroyed Men Come and Go and on how the show came to be – elaborating on its multiplicities, his sculptural, introspective (self-)portraits, and the intricate interplay between the themes, motifs, and techniques that form his artistic language.
Enrico David works in sculpture, painting, textiles, and installation, with drawing being key to his exploration of form. Mining a space between figuration and abstraction, David returns to the body as a point of departure, exploring the human figure as a metaphor for transformation. Through references to anatomy, metamorphosis permeates their forms and connects these works with nature. This continuous morphing is further mirrored in David’s manipulation of materials, with modelling and casting obscuring any clear understanding of their material origin.
David favors time travel to connect the way the body is depicted into different states of being through various periods of global civilization – whether this is sleeping, hanging, relaxing, or decaying form. The artist’s work is replete with these disembodied personae, which, for all their vulnerability and grotesqueness, are frequently considered to be self-portraits, likewise instigating moments of self-reflection for the viewer.