Adolf von Hildebrand | Alexi Tsioris
Relief and Drawing
MAY 20 – JULY 4, 2021
PREVIEW | WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2021, 3-8PM
Alexi Tsioris will be present at the preview. The preview will take place according to current Covid regulations. Please contact us at gallery@arnoldi-livie.de or +49-89-22 59 20 to book an appointment for the preview or for a private viewing another day.
We are pleased to present selected reliefs, portrait busts and drawings by Adolf von Hildebrand (1847-1921) together with reliefs and monotypes by Alexi Tsioris, who was born in Athens in 1982 and lives in Munich. A graduate of the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, Tsioris continues the sculptural tradition in this city, and our presentation highlights the different approaches and positions of the two artists.
In the special Hildebrand year of 2021 (Adolf von Hildebrand died in Munich in 1921) it is an exceptional pleasure for us to dedicate a small, focused gallery exhibition to this sculptor who was famous and highly regarded during his lifetime. We were to a certain extent inspired by the recently published, extensive catalog of the estate of Adolf von Hildebrand preserved at the Neue Pinakothek [1], which provides a welcome occasion to revisit the history of Hildebrand's influence up to our current day.
Alexi Tsioris has always been fascinated by the act of drawing. In each of his works, one senses the importance of line. Despite the multitude of signs and shapes that coexist in Tsioris' works, the gentle, linear structures maintain clearly focused and concentrated. Each line and symbol finds its place and maintains balance with the other elements on the canvas, paper, or in three-dimensional space. Alexi Tsioris finds inspiration in, among a multitude of influences, the earliest forms of artistic expression - timeless elements such as archaic mark-making in prehistoric caves.
For our exhibition, Tsioris created nine new reliefs, oval shapes that suggest head-like forms, faces projecting from a wall, yet seeming quietly withdrawn into themselves. On closer inspection, the figurative association dissolves into an abstract structure of lines, some in aluminum, others in bronze, in hues ranging from silver to black, partially with a green patina. These reliefs find their continuation in a series of monotypes, a technique typical for Alexi Tsioris. The hand of the sculptor Tsioris is also visible in these two-dimensional works; as in his three-dimensional work, it is also about the "constant exchange between addition and reduction" [2].
Hildebrand's autodidactic training was guided in his early years in Rome and then Florence solely by his friend, the painter Hans von Marées, 10 years his senior. In 1873 they created a total work of art of the highest European rank with the painting and decoration of a hall of the Zoological Station in Naples. During their time together (1868 - 1875), first in Rome, then in Florence, supported by their wealthy patron, friend and intellectual companion Konrad Fiedler, the artist friends strove to renew their art and liberate it from detail and decoration. While Marées was increasingly consumed in the conceptual struggle, Hildebrand, with both artistic power and restraint, strove life-affirmingly toward the completion of his works. These drew their power from the purity of body language. In his portrait busts, characterized by a Renaissance-like composure, he was concerned with the inner nature of the sitter. He turned against any salon complacency, as was prevalent in the art world with Lenbach or Kaulbach. Especially in the depictions of his children, art and life are harmoniously combined in great poetry.
Thanks to the active support of the descendants of Hildebrands' son-in-law and close collaborator, the architect Carl Sattler (Florence 1877- 1966 Munich), we are able to show several key works from private collections in this exhibition. These, together with works that the Arnoldi-Livie Gallery has placed in collections over its 50 year existence, provide an insight into Hildebrand's multifaceted oeuvre.
The casts of Alexi Tsioris' new works, as well as the organization of the exhibition and a forthcoming publication with an exhibition text by Tim Geissler have been made possible by the generous support of the Stiftung Kunstfonds NEUSTART KULTUR initiative.
We would like to thank Jahn und Jahn, Munich and Livie Fine Art, Zurich for the engaged and productive collaboration.
[1] Exhibition catalog Munich 2021, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Neue Pinakothek, Katalog der Skulpturen, Vol.II: Adolf von Hildebrand, edited by Fabian Pius Huber with essays by Bernhard Maaz, Joachim Kaak, Franziska Kolba, Berlin-Munich 2021.
[2] Alexi Tsioris, Cosmic Fruits, Jahn und Jahn, Munich, March 15 – April 27, 2019, quote from the exhibition text by Dr. Michael Semff
Opening hours: by appointment | gallery@arnoldi-livie.de | +49 (0)89 225920
If you would like to make an appointment for a private viewing, kindly contact us at +49-89-22 59 20 or gallery@arnoldi-livie.de.
Selected Works in the Exhibition
