GREGOR GAIDA
Sum of Stories
OPENING
Friday, January 15, 2010, 7 pm
ADLER - FRANKFURT AM MAIN
January 16 – March 6, 2010
„The result of my work is a translation of reality. With it, the
spatial object is put into relation while the sum of perceptions
reflects the ambiguity of reality.”
Quantum physics postulates that a particle can follow every possible
path in space-time on its way from one place to another and thus
live through every possible story. Each of these possibilities
describes one story and the sum of all these stories results in the
only “probable” path while each possible story holds a probability
of its own. Gregor Gaida (*1975 Chorzów, Poland) has taken on this
scientific onset and transferred it to life and art. In his
philosophical approach of “sum of histories”, he describes the
theory of human action as the consequence of the sum of all past
events.
In his sculptures, Gaida literally gives shape to this approach and
tells stories without writing them out. They are allegories of the
contemporary that in their openness and elusiveness suggest
different possibilities of a story.
Contradictions in current and historical context and in social value
systems generate concepts that condense to imagery. As scrutinizing
observer, he documents persons facing a personal decision and, at
these crossroads, logs every detail of their mimic and gestures. His
sculptures depict singular moments that implicate not only the sum
of causes but all possibilities arising from this moment. Starting
point of these works are mostly photographs in which the
protagonists’ postures and gestures as well as the composition are
evaluated individually. The images’ original impact is alienated
through the cropping of details, eventually opening the possibility
of free interpretation by the viewer.
In “Lateral III” the artist merges positively charged components
like the motive of the child, the colour white and the pureness of
washing powder. Their sum and constellation, however, produce a
negative effect and irritate the viewer. Here, the crated image
wavers between attraction and repulsion. Something similar happens
in “Kind und Kreide” (“Child and Crayon”) which seems to feature the
theme of childhood’s innocence and purity. Only upon the second,
closer look of the viewer, the seemingly playful scene unfolds to
its whole extent: In absolute equality the playing children mutate
to adversaries who consciously set themselves apart from each other.
The narrative character of the figurative in Gaida’s works is always
strongly pronounced and the characters whose anatomic minutiae and
physiognomies are defined in detail seem strangely animate. A
classic and timeless impression is also given by the lightly glazed
wood which finds frequent application besides other materials such
as aluminium, polyester and acrylic resin. Apart from the delicate
wood grain, knotholes and small irregularities shine through the
white glazed surface of skin, hair and clothes. Their inner
substance which in itself holds an organic vitality is revealed and
imparts Gaida’s figurines with their ambivalent livelihood.
Gregor Gaida merges approaches from photography and painting to form
inimitable sculptures. His objects may be seen as three-dimensional
snapshots as the protagonists are cropped at their imaginary image
borders and wrest away from their original frame of action. It is
this fragmentary character that prompts the viewer to fathom
themselves the “sum of stories”.
