20.03. – 10.04.2011
Forum Kunst & Architektur Essen

Antoine Berghs (Maastricht, NL), Wolfgang Bittner (Den Haag, NL /Aus), DOS Crew (Ruhrgebiet / NL), Eachone & Anyone (Essen, D), Gigo Propaganda (Essen, D), Cristina Lucas (Madrid, ES), Mozes & Taps (International), Nils Müller (Bochum / Köln, D), Nektar Carla (Essen / Hamburg, D), Paulien Oltheten (Amsterdam, NL), Andrew Sroka (New York, USA), Victor Szabo (Essen, D), (Unknown Artist) (Unknown)

Sunday 20.03. 12h Vernissage

Critical Mess – the exhibition is on display from March 20th, to April 10th,, 2011 at Forum Kunst & Architektur and accompanies the equally called dance-performance in Grillo Theatre, Essen. Under the common denominator “experts of deviant behaviour” Critical Mess reflects Graffiti from Nordrhein-Westfalen and international video art onto each other and addresses re/presentation of sub/culture in exhibition spaces.

Critical Mess shows the radical, partly romantic as well as conceptual practices of graffiti artists. These are directly compared to approaches of contemporary artists who work with other media and in different surrounding: A confrontation of scribbling, ephemerality, destruction, personal risk and artistic activism in private and public spaces.

On the occasion of the exhibition a catalogue designed by Kerstin Emonds will be published. The exhibition is curated by Gabor Doleviczenyi,
Lene ter Haar and Robert Kaltenhäuser.

Artistic interventions in public space between Forum and Theater

26.03. Premiere “Critical Mess” & 30.03. 19.30h Performance / Grillo Theater
01.04. 19h Lectures: A perspective of things – Graffiti. / Forum
Kunst & Architektur
04.04. 19h Discussion: We leave our marks. Graffiti, significance and impact. / Grillo Theater
10.04. 12h Finissage & Performance / Forum Kunst & Architektur

Forum Kunst / Architektur
Kopstadtplatz 12 D – 45127 Essen
Di – Fr 12-19h / Sa, So 12-17h

KINGDRIPS is an art collective & design studio based in Hamburg, Germany.
Run by four individual artists, whose aesthetic influences range from graffiti and urban scenes to design and fine arts. This has lead to a wide range of very recognizable imagery: the brand Kingdrips. As they juggle with different individual styles, they juggle with the boundaries between fine arts and commercially interesting works: in their eyes, it is a smooth transition as long as they don´t come into conflict with their creative and artistic freedom. It’s all about Friendship and the dream to live like they like to – to work and have fun doing it!