2015
Der Spiegelsaal
Der Spiegelsaal was created especially for the Pavillon am Milchhof. The installation was the result of research undertaken by the artist during a two month residency in the Gastatellier at Milchhof Studios in Berlin during the summer of 2012.
During her stay at the guest studio in Milchhof she concentrated on making drawings based on her explorations of the city, these drawings reflected the stark diagonals created by its main arteries. At the same time, Bryan was exploring the 18th century palaces of Berlin and Potsdam, looking for evidence of the sublime and the exotic within their invented landscapes, in their gardens and in their interior Rococo detailing. She also took inspiration from the rusted steel poles that mark the site of the Berlin Wall which passed very close to the studio, which would have been on the very edge of the old east.
Walking past the Pavillon every day, Bryan became interested in how the building mirrored itself; also the way in which the glass was reflective, bringing the outside world inside; Der Spiegelsaal or The Mirror Hall was an important room in many 18th century palaces,
The work was then shown, in 2015, as part of Assembly a programme of site specific installations re-sited at Central Space Gallery, London. This Victorian school building was a very different environment to the Pavillon am Milchhof. The work was then shown at The Glass Tank at Oxford Brookes University in Re Assemble, where all three of the installations that had been shown at Central Space Gallery were exhibited in the gallery space together. This space referenced the original site for the work, The Glass Tank is surrounded by reflecting windows. Both these exhibition projects were curated by Denise Bryan.
Pavillon am Milchhof – April 2014
Central Space Gallery – May 2015
Glass Tank Gallery – November 2015
Size variable (2mx2mx10m approx).
Wood, Muslin, Clay, Pavapol (fabric stiffener)
Pavillon am Milchhof, Berlin
April 2014
Central Space Gallery, London
May 2015
Glass Tank Gallery, Oxford
November 2015
2012
Berlin and Beyond
Before developing the sculptural piece Der Spiegelsaal, during the artist’s residency in Berlin in 2012, she made a series of drawings and photomontages. Work on this series continued in the studio in London. The drawing works were shown in Berlin to coincide with the installation at The Pavillon am Milchhof in 2014.
The Berlin Drawings are large scale, mixed media on paper
