Gerhardt Knodel - Minglings: The Migration
june 9, 2019 — september 8, 2019
The beauty of life is that ultimately we’re free to wander, to migrate from place to place, from idea to idea, from image to image, taking our experiences to new territories of opportunity, to grow and evolve. In the past few years, people around the world have shared awareness of the pleasure and pain that comes with change. Driven by traumatic circumstances they seek alternatives and are transported to new ground.
A Ming Dynasty textile fragment in Knodel’s collection physically migrated in the late 17th century from China to a new home in Lisbon, Portugal, a long and treacherous journey that offered a new context generating unexpected responses from its new owners. Arriving in Europe, it appeared “exotic” and mysteriously different. And very desirable.
Eventually, a fragment of that original textile migrated to the artist’s studio where its inspiration and exotic appeal live to inspire new generations of offspring.
Between 2015 and 2019 Knodel has focused exclusively on this evolution, producing 65 works and multiple reactions to the imagery and associated cultural traditions conveyed in a single material object. This presentation invites viewers to experience an environment of his discoveries, to integrate their own identity with his journey, and ultimately to stand for the power of potential in each human life with a proud proclamation: I MIGRATE!
Join the migration by taking a photo in the exhibition and tagging it with #IMigrateDMC. Check out some of the submissions here.
Image: Gerhardt Knodel with one of the works from the exhibition.
