Nick Ervinck
GNI-RI apr2009
TELIC Arts Exchange is very pleased to announce that Nick Ervinck's GNI-RI apr2009 will be the first exhibition in our remote project, BERLIN. Ervinck will present two recent, large-scale sculptures, one in each gallery space. The exhibition begins on Friday, April 3 and runs until Sunday, May 15.
Ervinck's looming sculptures, Eitoza (2009) and Yarotube (2007-2008), each straddle the boundary between the heavy weight of physical existence and the ethereal, superficial lightness that we often see in computer graphics. Their signature color, an artificial yellow, gives little away in terms of what these things are. Is Yarotube a reticulated oil pipeline or just the building infrastructure gone wild, like mushrooms? The work literally has no openings. It is strangely closed off, impenetrable, even while seeming to reference the ultra-connected internet culture that has taken shape over the last 15 years. Eitoza rises precariously from the black floor where a pattern is painted, organic and abstract. The retro-futuristic form is generated from 19th-century wallpaper, elements of which are found in the floor graphic.
Nick Ervinck exhibited some of his animated works two years ago in a show at our space in Los Angeles, curated by Christophe de Jaeger. During a lecture that Nick gave, he showed images of his studio and large sculptural works that seemed to tear the virtual world of 3-D renderings directly into the "real world." The ambivalence of his practice led us to ask him to be the first artist to exhibit in BERLIN.
Nick Ervinck (born 1981, lives and works in Belgium) creates huge installations, sculptures, prints, workdrawings and animated films. For several years he participated in many individual projects and group shows. In 2005 he received the Godecharle prize for Sculpture, in 2006 the Mais prize of the City Brussels and the prize for visual art of West-Flanders and in 2008 the Rodenbach fonds award. Recently he showed work at Museum of Contemporary Art MARTA in the city of Herford, Kunstverein Ahlen, Koraalberg gallery in Antwerp, Zebrastraat in Ghent, HISK in Ghent, Odette in Ostend, Superstories Hasselt, Brakke Grond in Amsterdam, MAMA Rotterdam and Telic Arts Exchange, Los Angeles.