Eberhard Bosslet

Eberhard Bosslet, Schrott & Sonne (Scrap Metal and Sun), 1982

Eberhard Bosslet (born 1953) is a German contemporary artist who has been producing site-specific art and architectural-related works, such as sculpture, installation, light art and painting, all indoors and outdoors, since 1979. Born in Speyer, Germany, and living in Berlin and Dresden, he co-founded the artist group, "Material & Effect" (Material & Wirkung) in Berlin in 1981, and since 1980, has been the co-director of the artistspace "MOPEDS" in Berlin/Kreuzberg that is involved in curating and managing non-conventional artshows.

Dossier of works

• 1979: Self-referential works in words and writing-form of painting, photography, wall-drawings, and plates; site-specific interior work with wall-drawings and plates.
• Since 1979:
  • Sculptures and installations with electric light and electric steering;
  • Performance "Per-/Re-ception" (Wahr-nehmen) in a hall at an industrial yard in Speyer, Germany, using electric installation, electric light, zinc sulfide (phosphorus); photographic details of existing situations in the hall, projected in color or black-and-white negative slides, on the situations themselves.
• 1980: Wood panels, coated with colored varnish, and variably arranged in layers.
• Since 1980: Broken glass-panes, site-specific and installation works, as well as paintings with partially colored-coated broken glass, acrylic panes and flexible PVC sheets indoors and outdoors. view1. view2
• 1981: Works with roadway markings and roadblocks.
• 1982: "Mobilien & Immobilien" (Movables & Immovables), a series of photographs, produced with a painted Vespa motor scooter, and colored house facades at Tenerife/Canary Islandes. view
• 1982 - 84: "Mobiliar" (Furniture), and "Stand der Dinge" (Status Quo); photographs of interior designs in which the backgrounds and objects were painted. view
• Since 1982:
  • Series of color photographs at the Canary Islands, Spain;
  • Urban exploration: so-called "scrap metal and sun"; Abandoned cars in southern landscape view;
  • "Interventions" in public space, site specific art,
• 1983: Works of rubble at a waste dump.
• 1983–2011:
  • Works with ruins, so-called "Re/formations and side effects"; here, stabilization and destabilization of perception of conditions of industrial and residential buildings by white painted lines or black painted color fields;
  • Side-specific outdoor intervention. view

• 

  construction drawing - La Restinga II, El Hierro, 1983

• 

  side effect VII, Guimar, Teneriffa, 1990

• 

  side effect X, Tajao, Teneriffa, Südseite, 2006

• 

  side effect X, Tias, Lanzarote, 2008

• 1985 - 88: Painting — each form complex has its own color and paint material; the "facade ground" is a significantly visible component, and is of equal value as the variables, "form, color, and paint material". view
• Since 1985: "Supporting Measures" — indoor, space-related installations and sculptures with items of the building trade; here, new arrangement of space, apparent stabilization and destabilization of the building material and the space itself, by building in structural bodies. view

• 

  UM-ANT-Expander, Antwerpen 1985

• 

  Anmaßend I, documenta 8, Kassel, 1987

• 

  Supporting Measures at Mercer Union, Toronto, 1988

• 

  Modulare Struktur - flat, Prato, 1988

• 

  Modulare Struktur - Raster B3/89, Berlin, 1989

• 

  UM Bregenz 90/04, Thurn & Taxis Palais, 2004

• 

  Stallung Bregenz 90/04, Thurn & Taxis Palais, 2004

• 

  Modulare Struktur - Hochkant 90/09 KV-IN-PERI, Ingolstadt 2009

• 

  Subwaystation Auf dem Damm, Duisburg, 2000

• 1986: "Basements" — low, floorplan-like sculptures, with concrete blocks and copper pipe, or bricks and copper pipe.
• 1987 - 1989|89: Sculptures of "Filing Cabinets" with wood, steel strips; tension and pressure keeps the new order of components stable. view
• Since 1989:
• "Tapestry" of industrial textiles, with no "ground" due to the color-form-material complexes, sewed up next to each other;
• Wall fixtures, varying in type and shape, have a supporting and visual function. view
• Since 1989:
  • Project drawings for planned sculptures and installations, computer-generated using a pixel-oriented program, and printed with a 24-needle printer;
  • "Pneumatic Pieces" — Free-standing works, with hydraulically or pneumatically driven lifting devices for inside; "contraptions" made of items from industrial and domestic parts. view
  • "Pneumatic Installations" — Installed works, with hydraulically or pneumatically driven lifting devices for both inside and outside; "contraptions" made of items from industrial and domestic parts. view
• 1993 - 98:
  • "Bilaterale Beziehungen" (Bilateral Relations);
• "Screens": Lattice-structures of rubber- or polyurethane-mounted on both sides of a wall; anchor bars inserted into holes in the walls, helical pressure springs, and anchor nuts have a visual function and hold the parts together.
  • "Gloriolen": cast reliefs, mounted on both sides of a wall, using the same principle as in "Screens", the cast reliefs are held together through anchor bars, helical pressure springs, and anchor nuts that also have a visual function. view
• Since 1995: "Barrieren" (Barriers) — foundation-like, knee-high constructions in concrete and steel reinforcement, made on site, designed for the dimensions of the space, and blocking the evident path through the room. view
• 1998–2001: "Spacelab" — made out of living room lights from the 1950s–1970s, hanging from the ceiling. view
• Since 2000:
  • "Analogic Discs"
  • Paintings: Trampolines are the support, which is a constructive and visual part of the appearance. The support, the form, the material and the color are different, and they are piled on each other. view
• Since 2001
  • Biomorphic sculptures "Stool Archipelago", "Island growth", "stump stools" are groups of sculptures made of fibreglass plastic on the basis of known organic forms.
• Since 2003
  • Colour photo series entitled Falsches Wasser (Fake Water) featuring ships and boats on land in town or countryside settings on the Canary Islands, Spain.
• Since 2006
  • EinRaumHaus (OneRoomHouse) colour photo series of small buildings in the landscape of the Canary Islands, Spain.
  • Instant sculptures: The sculpture entitled "roundabout" for the public space, consisting of industrial units such as trolleys and fences, which contrary to its conventional use are connected to mega-structures.

Exhibitions

One man shows

• Since 1981: "Interventions" in public space, Antwerp, Barcelona, Canary Islands, Duisburg (Belgium), Spain, Germany.
• 1985: "Interventiones", Fundación Miró, Barcelona; Espacio P, Madrid, Spain (catalog).
• 1986: Wilhelm-Lehmbruck-Museum, Duisburg, Germany (catalog).
• 1987: Heidelberger Kunstverein, Germany (catalog).
• 1988:
  • February: John Gibson Gallery, New York City, United States.
  • Mercer Union, Toronto, Canada.
  • John Gibson Gallery, September, New York, USA.
• 1989:
  • Barbara Farber Gallery, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
  • Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin, Germany (catalog).
  • Karl Bornstein Gallery, Santa Monica, California, USA.
• 1990:
  • Galerie Le Gall-Peyroulet, Paris, France.
  • John Gibson Gallery, New York, USA.
• 1991:
  • Kunstraum Wuppertal, Germany.
  • Galerie Gilles Peyroulet, Paris, France.
• 1993:
  • Kunsthal Rotterdam, the Netherlands (catalog).
  • Sala 1, Rome, Italy (catalog).
  • Galerie Blancpain-Stepczynski, Genever, Switzerland.
• 1995:
  • Interventionen II, VERBAU, Sprengel Museum Hannover, Germany (catalog).
  • PLANEN, Kunstverein Heilbronn, Germany (catalog).
• 1998: Fundamental wie Bilateral, Kunsthalle Mannheim, CD-ROM for PC, Germany.
• 2000:
  • Satellites, Galerie Bochynek, Düsseldorf, Germany.
  • Interventions, John Gibson Gallery, New York, USA.
• 2002: "Analog Discs", Galerie Bochynek, Düsseldorf, Germany.
• 2004:
  • Okkupanten, Künstlerhaus Bregenz, Palais Thurn und Taxis, Austria.
  • Interventionen und Tekko-Tische, Chiara Marzi Gallery, Berlin
• 2005: Galerie AT, Barriere, Poznan, Poland
• 2006: Galerie der Stadt Backnang (catalog), Germany
• 2007: Stadtgalerie Saarbrücken, (catalog), Germany
• 2009: Additive, Kunstverein Ingolstadt, CD-ROM-archive with booklet in softbox, Germany
• 2010: Humboldt-University Berlin, Thaer-Saal, Berlin, Germany
• 2011: Stump stools, Lichthof im Albertinum Dresden, Dresden, Germany

Group shows

• 1987:
  • Bremer Kunstpreis 1987, Kunsthalle Bremen, Germany, (catalog).
  • documenta, documenta 8, Kassel, Germany, (catalog).
• 1988:
  • European sculpture made in USA, John Gibson Gallery, New York, USA (catalog).
  • BRD abstract tendenciens in new German art, Karl Bornstein Gallery, St. Monica, California, USA.
  • Spaces 88, Museo d'arte contemporanea Prato, Italy (catalog).
  • New Poverty, MeyersBloom Gallery, Santa Monica, California, USA.
• 1989: Intuition, John Gibson Gallery, New York, USA.
• 1990:
  • Three German Sculptors, Bosslet, Robbe, Staehle, Anthony Ralph Gallery, New York, USA.
  • Trans-Europe-Express, John Gibson Gallery, New York, USA.
  • Non-Sculpture, Barbara Farber Gallery, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
  • The Collection 1988-90, Museo d'arte contemporanea Prato, Italy (catalog).
• 1991: Eurocard, John Gibson Gallery, New York, USA.
• 1992:
  • 30th anniversary of Amnesty International, Hótel des arts, Paris, France (catalog).
  • Kunst werkt (Art works), Peter Stuyvesant Foundation, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Foundación Miró, Barcelona, Palacio de la Lonja, Zaragoza, Spain (catalog).
  • The 1980s, John Gibson Gallery, New York, USA.
  • Humpty Dumty's Kaleidoscope: A new generation of German artists, Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney, Australia (catalog).
  • Avantgarde Reflex Ost-West, Potsdam, Germany.
• 1993:
  • Eberhard Bosslet & Lawrence Gipe, Kunstverein der Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany (catalog).
  • John Gibson Gallery, New York, USA.
  • La Laiterie, Amnesty International, Strasbourg, France.
• 1994:
  • New Furniture for the Villa, Villa Merkel Esslingen, Germany.
  • Villa Massimo 1988-92, Kunstverein Hannover, Germany.
• 1997: The Pleasure of Reading, John Gibson Gallery, New York.
• 1998: Material & Wirkung, Bosslet, Sattel, Klotz, Kunsthaus Dresden, Germany.
• 2003: Unexpected selections from the Margulies collection, The Art Museum, Miami, Florida, USA (catalog).
• 2004:
  • WorldWatchers, Kunsthaus Dresden (catalog), Germany
  • Konstruktion I Statik, Rüdiger Lange -Loop - Raum für aktuelle Kunst, Berlin, Germany
• 2006:
  • Faszination Fußball, Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern, Catalog, Germany
  • Filzfabrik Speyer, Künstlerbund Speyer, Germany
  • Das Jahrhundert moderner Skulptur, Wilhelm-Lehmbruck-Museum, Duisburg, Germany
• 2007: 1plus aus Dresden, Schloss Waldthausen bei Mainz, D
• 2008:
  • Ostrale 08, Zentrum für zeitgenössische Kunst, Dresden, D
  • 2nd Bienal de Canarias, Arte, Arquitectura y Paisaje, La Regenta,

Las Palmas Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain

• • „berufen", Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden, Germany
• 2009:
  • Ostrale 09, Ausstellung internationaler zeitgenössicher Künste, Dresden, Germany
  • 1st Biennale für Internationale Lichtkunst Ruhr, (Catalog), Curator Matthias Wagner K, Germany
• 2010: Liebhaberstücke, Kunstmuseum Mülheim, Germany,
• 2011:
  • Universum, Temporärer Kunstraum Harkort, Leipzig, Germany ** Kunst in der Villa Körbling, Speyer End of the dream, MicaMoco, Berlin, Germany
• 2012:
  • Participar, El Matadero, Madrid, Spain
  • art claim impulse, Berlin, Germany
  • 2nd Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art, Ekaterinburg, RUS (catalog)

Bibliography

• Camps Miro, Teresa und Picazo Gloria: Eberhard Bosslet Intervenciones/Interventionen, Catalog of the Fundación Miró, Barcelona 1985, Spain.
• Stecker, Raimund: documenta 8, Catalog, Germany
• Cameron, Dan: European Sculpture made in U.S.A., Catalog of the John Gibson Gallery, New York, USA 1988.
• Day, Peter: Spaces 88, Catalog of the Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Prato, Italy 1988.
• Rubinstein, Meyer Raphael: Eberhard Bosslet at John Gibson Gallery, in: Flash Art, Summer 1988, p. 136.
• Deckter, Joshua: Eberhard Bosslet at John Gibson Gallery, in: Arts Magazine, December 1988, p. 106.
• Weinstein, Matthew A.: Eberhard Bosslet, John Gibson Gallery, in: Artforum, December 1988, p. 121/122, USA.
• Ottmann, Klaus: European Sculpture made in U.S.A., John Gibson Gallery, in: Flash Art, Summer 1988.
• Nieuwenhuyzen, Martijn van: Eberhard Bosslet, Barbara Farber Gallery Amsterdam, in: Flash Art, May/June 1989 p. 125.
• Schmitz, Britta: Eberhard Bosslet, catalog of the Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin, 1989, Germany.
• Kandel, Susan: L.A. in Review, Eberhard Bosslet, Karl Bornstein Gallery, in: Arts Magazine, March 1990, p. 126, USA.
• Pagel, David: Eberhard Bosslet, Karl Bornstein Gallery, in: Artscribe, March/April 1990, p. 82.
• Mahoney, Robert: Eberhard Bosslet, John Gibson Gallery, in Arts Magazine, January 1991.
• Murphy, Bernice: in Humpty Dumpty's Kaleidoscope, A New Generation of German Artists, catalog of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney 1992, p. 17,34,55,58/59. Australia
• Bochynek, Martin: Eberhard Bosslet, Catalog of the Kunsthal Rotterdam 1993, Netherlands.
• Bosslet-Archive (electronic resource), works, essays, reviews 1979–2003; Editor Kunsthalle Mannheim. 3rd Edition, Gallery Version. Dresden, 2003

See also

• Site specific art
• Environmental sculpture
• Environmental art
• Installation art
• Land Art
• Art intervention
• Street Art
• Light art
• List of German painters

External links

• Official Web Site for Eberhard Bosslet
• artnews.org
• artnet.de