Sep 27 - Nov 16, 2024, Poznan (PL)
In his solo exhibition 'Resistance Is Futile', Kiefer takes you on a journey to a special memory from his youth: blowpipes with friends in the Hageven nature reserve (Pelt, BE). Painted portraits, idyllic landscapes, blowpipes carved from wood, and relics from the past are displayed in a space pierced with bronze blow darts. Military-inspired artifacts, such as emblems resembling army insignias, hint that Kiefer links this precious childhood memory to a contemporary issue: the ongoing war in Ukraine, which feels all too close in frontline Poland. In a peaceful way, with a children's game, the artist resists (the) war. Join Kiefer's army and create art!
Memories, dreams and the question of how to deal with the unreliability of our own memory form the common thread in the painting and drawing oeuvre of Belgian artist Gideon Kiefer (°1970). On a secondary level, Kiefer’s work is often read as sociocritical. Over the years, his work increasingly takes on an apocalyptic atmosphere, closely linked to the growing climate crisis. Fluttering canvases, inspired by sheets used to protect melting glaciers, landscapes safely tucked away under a bell jar, trees stripped bare to brittle branches, ... These are just a few of the many metaphors depicting this theme.
