The strict codes of the fashion and consumer world and their communication through images are central themes of the two exhibitions by Tobias Kaspar (*1984 in Basel, lives in Rome) and Carter Mull (*1977 in Atlanta, lives in Los Angeles). At Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen the artists examine constructions of identity from different positions. Their images, films and installations enter a dialogue both spatially and in terms of content. With rearranged symbols from fashion and pop culture they reveal social mechanisms and create their own pictorial worlds. The juxtaposition of their different strategies shows that in a reality flooded with images and goods the dividing lines between art and consumption and individuality and community are permeable.

Kasper and Mull unfold a many-layered encounter with subcultures and pictorial realities with almost diametrically opposed artistic languages and strategies which enter into a promising dialogue at the Kunst Halle.

Tobias Kaspar demonstrates the interaction between encoding and decoding with the film Black Noire, the centrepiece of his show «The Air on the Way to the Oyster». The new film, produced by the Kunst Halle, is the second part of a trilogy and shows impressions from a luxury clothes shop in Rome. Voyeuristic camera angles and slow sequences capture the brand articles at an interface: the clothes and accessories are still free from the personal charge of their wearers, although the label influences the significance. In addition, the cool aesthetics of the close-ups of his own pictures create poetry in consumption devoid of meaning. Kaspar makes it clear that the presentation and representation of clothes and architecture lie close together. The artist is also intervening at the Kunst Halle with an installation: a carpet becomes a stylized catwalk which connects the spaces and serves as an abstracted plinth for the presentation of photographic works.

P.S. From 17 to 22 June Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen is a special guest at the LISTE Art Fair in Basel, where it is showing an offshoot of the two exhibitions.

«The Air on the Way to the Oyster» is supported by Erna und Curt Burgauer Stiftung and Abteilung Kultur Basel-Stadt. Special thanks to Istituto Svizzero di Roma.

Biography

Tobias Kaspar (*1984 in Basel, CH) studied at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Hamburg (2005-2011) and the Hochschule für Bildende Künste (Staedelschule) in Frankfurt. Today he lives in Rom. Solo exhibitions (selection): Hydra Life, SILBERKUPPE, Berlin, DE (2013); Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zürich, CH (2012); Alex Zachary Gallery, New York, US (2011), Golden Pudel Club, Hamburg, DE (2007). Group exhibitions (selection): CAFAM Art Museum, Bejing, CN (2014); Artists Space, New York, US (2013); Palais de Tokyo, Paris, FR (2012); Kunsthalle Zürich, Zürich, CH; Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, CH; Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz, AT (2011).