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DAVID MERAN portfolio 2016
D A V I D M E R A N
portfolio2016
David Meranis a Vienna based visual artist who workes with a
variety of media, chiefly object art, installations and photography.
* born 1991 Austriacurrently lives in Vienna
since 2011 he studies at the University of Applied Arts Vienna
and in 2016 at Geidai - Tokyo University of the Arts.
CV
2016: solo- exhibition Sarah Steiner & David Meran “Heftiges Begehren nach Erkenntnis und keine brennbaren Materialien“ Spektakel Vienna group- exhibition “THE INTROTEN” intermedia art department-Geidai Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan solo- show “THE GREATEST ART SHOW ON EARTH” space 8X8, Toride, Japan
group- exhibition “WIP” Geidai Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan
YOUNG ART AUCTION, 21er Haus, Vienna
2015: fashion- design project for the Vienna based fashion label „LINIERT“
published in SYN magazin
participant of the international EU film project “Visionary Youth” in Amsterdam
YOUNG ART AUCTION, Albertina Vienna
group-exhibition “Roter Faden - textileforce” Galerie Freihausgasse/Galerie der Stadt Villach
published in “spitz- queer in wien”
2014: group-exhibition Schickaneder Vienna
design surface prostheses for Otto Bock group-exhibition „In meiner Westentasche“ at Schikaneder Vienna
published in “77 magazin”
published in „KUNST_LEBEN“ from Ruth Mateus-Berr and Julia Poscharnig, Vienna
2013: group-exhibition- über/arbeiten, University of Applied Arts Vienna
group-exhibition at Kunsthalle Vienna- in the context of EARLY BIRDS
2012: group-exhibition-BITbyBIT vol. I Gallery Base Level, Vienna
group-exhibition- „Talente vor den Vorhang“/ Klangwelten Micheldorf
Design Team EFSLI, AGM and conderence in Vienna
2008: solo-exhibition- Kulturschmiede Micheldorf
ARTIST STATEMENT Formally, my work explores the tension between reality vs. illusion, flatness vs. dimensionality and the conception of room strategies. I use objects and materials with a strong connection to on-going sociocultural society issues and put it on underneath an artistic process.
Through my artistic work I use different media, most of it revolves around objects, installations and photography. I see myself as a multi-media artist because I think certain thoughts and con-cepts need certain modes of representation. so Using only one dimension by limiting a concept to one media would simply feel wrong to me. I also like to think of the variety of media and materials as a metaphor for the issues of cultural hybridity that my work addresses. I see it as my duty as an artist to understand and reflect ongo-ing struggles in our society and ask abstract ma-terialized questions. So apart from the obvious, my art studies, I am interested in history, gender theories and cultural identity.
My work has a fundamental connection to the space in which it is installed. Choosing a partic-ular surrounding can be seen as the second very important part, besides the art object itself. For my work called „ORIENTAL RUG“ I installed it in an empty industrial corridor together with the sound of the nearby machines of the factory, for example.
Another leading question is the conception and con-notation of art spaces in general. Does space create art or which presentation does art need to be seen as art? I was asked to show some work in a small art space in Toride/ Japan. Originally, the room was used to show nice pictures of art on the wall. I was more interested to work with the room itself and created „THE GREAT-EST ART SHOW ON EARTH“. The main aim was to reflect about this question and to picture the greatest art yourself you can think of. To do so, there was an instruc-tion written in English and Japanese on the window, by focussing on a black spot in front of you. (You can find the full text on my WORK page by clicking on the pic-ture).
Besides those theoretical considerations, the idea of my own identity in general carries much of my attention. My grandfather had to flee in the 1920s from the north of Italy to Austria, escaping from the Italian fascists. Ever since then, this traumatic experience has been a struggle in our family. Therefore, the topics of affiliation, assimilation and identity have been on my mind since I was little (video, GRANDFATHER / ME / 3RD PERSON). I tried using my personal memories (followed by re-search) to explore current incidents of cultural stereo-typing and to further reflect on them. This resulted in a unique focus on contemporary observations of our society. I do this not on a superficial cultural level but in fact go deeper and always explore actual intellectual struggles.
1,38 G/CM³ VS. 2,62 – 2,84 G/CM³
marble, japanese plastic box (21,4 x 14 x 5 cm)
© DAVID MERAN 2016
Carpets have the power of defining room. They create an invisible space just by being rolled out. The simple manipulation of „destroying“ the cultural object by painting half of it with varnish, trans-forms the rug into an art piece or it is it just the presen-tation and conno-tation that enable that?
ORIENTAL RUG
installation (3,5 x 1 m) varnish© DAVID MERAN 2015
HOUSE OF CARDS ON A CARPET
installation: printed carpet on paper (140x 90 cm) iPhone 5 (backside- screenless) out of papier/wood© DAVID MERAN 2016
In this installation multiple layers of interpretations can be found. Firstly, the carpet pretends to be out of a textile material but it is printed on paper. There is one water mark which was badly photoshopped to have a connection to the digital world. A digital picture is based on pixels like a carpet on knots. The twenty-three iPhones are made out of wood and paper, based on the artist’s personal mobile. They are arranged like a play-ground for children as if they would have played house of cards on it. When you walk around the work, you realize the iPhones have no screens, they are built out of the backsides. Even though it was not necessarily intended, people started to arrange the phones differently while displayed in a group show in Japan (“WIP” exhibition- Geidai Tokyo Univer-sity of the Arts). This movement fits perfectly to similar work of the artist. Is it allowed to touch the artwork and what form of representation is needed for it to be seen as untouchable art?
THE GREATEST ART SHOW ON EARTH
adhesive foil8x8 space, Toride Japan© DAVID MERAN 2016
In spring 2016 Meran was asked to present his work in the 8x8 space in Toride, Japan. Originally, artists presented their paintings and pictures there because the small room was seen as a display of two-dimensional work (ich versteh den Satz nicht ganz, vielleicht besser: Usually, artists present their paintings and pictures there because the small room is seen as a display of two dimensional work.). There-fore, he came up with a special project called THE GREATEST ART SHOW ON EARTH for this specific art space. He could have put any object inside it and everybody would have immediately started to think about it and question ing it if it is art or what it is about. Meran’s work addresses this art theoretical question of the connotation of art spaces. This discussion is not very popular in Japan, so people were curious and confused with the concept of „showing something by not show-ing something.“ You think the title is a little exaggerated? Well, the „art“ you will see is as good as you are imagining it. So you better take it seriously.
INSTRUCTION:
Stand in front of the black frame. Feel the gravity and get in contact with the ground. Observe the black spot on the wall.
Relax and get comfortable. Take some deep breaths and concentrate on the black spot. Try to see this white space around you as a metaphor of your inner self. Imagine what really touches you. It could be anything you have seen or experienced before. Or just imagine the greatest personal desire you can think of. Everything is possible.
Everything is allowed. Enable your mind to be wild and passionate. The magic which is happing between our ears is just for you and your mind. Try to make out the most of this situation. Isn’t art the greatest thing on earth?
In Meran’s hometown there is one particu-larly street which he always called „the street of horror” as a child referring to the typically Austrian seventies architecture. Two doz-ens of years later, he took a simple series of analog pictures, showing these houses with neither windows nor doors. The technical process (analog taken, but digitally scanned and edited) is a comment on the indefensible truthfulness of analog pictures.
HOUSES WITHOUT WINDOWS
analog photography series© DAVID MERAN 2015-2016 (ongoing)
THE SPONGE IS PRESENT
object: cement, sponge (32x22,5x13 cm)© DAVID MERAN 2016
FURRY VARNISHED COAT
installation- fur coat, varnish© DAVID MERAN 2015
group-exhibition
“roter faden - textileforce”Galerie Freihausgasse/Galerie der Stadt VillachCurator: Barbara Putz-Plecko2015/2016
Which simple materialized possibili-ties do you have as an artist to express complex and immaterial things? This leading question of art in general carries much of Meran’s attention. In his photography series SPERM SCULP-TURES he tries to get to the bottom of it. Where does the construct of sex start and end? After loving someone, the only thing left is often just a tissue on the floor. It’s sad to trash them, they resem-ble a daily life sculpture. so They were photographed by an analog snapshot camera, without any editing, to show them in the most authentic and simple way.
SPERM SCULPTURES analog photography series© DAVID MERAN 2015 (ongoing)
YOU ONLY LIVE ONLINE
object- iphone 3gs, bananas, lemons,plastic bowls, vinyl colors
© DAVID MERAN 2014
„An apple a day, keeps the doctor away.“ Is this cheesy proverb also working for an iPhone? Which tension between life, transitoriness and an expiration date can be found in the objects?
“WIE LIEB ICH DICH, O GLÄSERNE HÜLLE DU BERGST DES ERDENRUNDS VIELFALT UND FÜLLE..”
large formate 90 X 130 CM© DAVID MERAN & ISABELLA KOHOUT 2015
The photography series “Wie lieb ich Dich, o gläserne Hülle du bergst des Erdenrunds Vielfalt und Fülle..” from Isabella Kohout und David Meran was shot in Dezember 2014 at the Palmenhaus in Vienna, right next to the famous castle Schönbrunn.The slides were taken with an analog full frame camera, digitally scanned and edited and printed (90 x 130 cm) at the University for Applied Arts Vienna.
The preserved animals are typical Austri-an dwellers from the woods, but it seems as if they have changed their natural habitat with this surreal building. How does life work out in this artificial foreign place? Suddenly, there pops up this ques-tion: Would they be able to survive in this building made out of glass and steel? Brand marked from our visual culture of perfect images taken in Austrian woods, the pictures open up thoughts of integra-tion, differences inside our culture and how we handle unknown situations or even human beings.
Vogelgezwitscher vom Band. Doch kann man hier frei leben? Kann man das, was man sich wünscht, das wovon man träumt, frei und offen empfinden? Der Traum währt manchmal kurz, bevor er erstarrt. Diese starren Bilder bleiben dann, un-angepasst und irritiert, so wie der Entstehungsrahmen. Ein Haus; aus weiten, hohen Fenstern, durch die helles und scheinbar erlösendes Licht dringt.Provokation, als Erlösung getarnt.
UNTITLED (BUT SEXY) FOOD I, II
2x digital print on acrylic-glas 20x30cm © DAVID MERAN 2014
HEAD IN THE CLOUDS AND THEIR FEET ON THE GROUND
object, photography paper, polyester, glue© DAVID MERAN 2013
“In the language of poetry, where every word is weighed, nothing is usual or normal. Not a single stone and not a single cloud above it. Not a single day and not a single night after it. And above all, not a single existance, not anyone’s existance in the world.” (Wislawa Szymborska)
GRANDFATHER / ME / 3RD PERSON
VIDEO 01:18 MIN© DAVID MERAN 2013
https://vimeo.com/190380513
LIEBE BEIM WEICHSPÜLEN
VIDEO 05:09 MIN© DAVID MERAN 2014
https://vimeo.com/102944307
TELL ME BABY IS THIS A QUEER ROOM?
VIDEO 00:55 MIN© DAVID MERAN 2015
https://vimeo.com/120372551
YOUR WIG IS THIRSTY
VIDEO 04:21 MIN© DAVID MERAN 2015
https://vimeo.com/142372644
DAVID MERAN © 2016
web:www.davidmeran.com
mail:[email protected]
phone:+436502647077
address:Johann Strauß Gasse 43/4
1040 ViennaAustria
instagram:davidmeran
