Insane in the Membrane

Group exhibition at Philara Collection

Rebekka Benzenberg
Isabella Fürnkäs
Simon Fujiwara
Vivian Greven
Jens Kothe
Oliver Laric
Hannah Levy
Anna Virnich
Raphaela Vogel

With the temporary exhibition Insane in the Membrane, nine artists born between the beginning of the 1980s to the beginning of 1990s are exhibiting their works, forming the first generation of so called “digital natives”.

The membrane describes a separating layer, with its etymological origin coming from the latin word membrana. Our skin serves the purpose of being a physical boundary separating what is inside from what is on the outside, for protection against environmental impacts, a means of representation and communication. In this function, our face is the most distinct indicator of our emotional state and representation. Human contact and communication originates in the interactions between skin, in touch.

In „Im Schwarm. Ansichten des Digitalen“, the philosopher Byung-Chul Han identifies a paradigm shift in our communication structure and in our sense of awareness, evoked by digitalisation. Resulting from this, is the flattening of substance, an increased narcissism and the dissolution of the counterpart. “The digital medium deprives communication of tactility and physicality.” How is this alleged loss of the tactile perceived by artists? How do they handle forms of sensitivity, cover and skin? These are the questions with which the exhibition will set apart.

Duration of the exhibition: 10th Nov. 2018. – 13th Jan. 2019

Philara Collection
By opening the publicly accessible Philara collection in the Düsseldorf district of Flingern, the art collector Gil Bronner has created an exceptional cultural offer for Düsseldorf and its region. The constantly expanding collection of contemporary art currently includes around 1400 works of different art forms such as paintings, sculpture, installation work, photography and works on paper. An essential attribute to Philara is the juxtaposition of the local young generation and the established, internationally active artists. Over the past two decades, Gil Bronner’s collection has continuously grown, many of the works being acquired from art galleries that are neighbours to the new home of the collection. The space, which is hidden in a rear courtyard, is integrated in such a way that its significant area of 1,700 square meters of exhibition space is submerged into the surrounding urban structures, making it nearly invisible from the outside. The majority of the halls have a considerable height of 9 meters, and are used for the rotating presentation of the collection. In addition to rooms designed individually to host specific installations, there is another area dedicated to temporary exhibitions, which are changed four times per year. Other than for exhibitions, the space is also used for many other interdisciplinary events such as concerts, readings or lectures. The diversified space program of the collection is complemented by the café Glas Lennarz and a 500 square meter sculpture terrace on the roof of the building, which was once a derelict industrial space.

Opening hours & guided tours (75min)
Friday through Sunday: Guided tours will be available by appointment.
THU 4 - 8 pm (without guided tours)
FRI 2 and 4 pm (EN)
SAT 2 and 4 pm
SUN 12 and 3 pm
MON – WED closed

Registration under: fuehrungen@philara.de Admission: 10 Euro, reduced: 5 Euro
www.philara.de