Thorsten Brinkmann
Born 1971, Germany
Lives and works in Hamburg
In his fantastical oeuvre, the German artist Thorsten Brinkmann moves between painting, photography, sculpture, readymade, collage and performance. Thorsten Brinkmann (b. 1971, Herne) is an active collector. In Hamburg, his place of residence, he has a huge shed filled with found objects. Everything that can be found at a flea market will be found in Thorsten Brinkmann’s collection: ruined wardrobes, lampshades, side tables, clothing and more. From this collection he freely draws-out items for use in his installations, sculptures, videos and photos. Hereby Brinkmann subtly indicates to us the shallow and nonchalant manner in which we, in our society, deal with objects.
In the series 'Portraits of a Serialsammler' Thorsten Brinkmann disguises himself in a different way each time. One time he puts second-hand clothes over his head. Another time he hides his face in a lampshade or a flowerpot. Using the junk from his collection Brinkmann moulds his own body into a new representation of himself each time. With these photographed sculptures Thorsten Brinkmann gives new meaning to the traditional understanding of painting and sculpture.
Thorsten Brinkmann refers to art history with pleasure. His photographic self-portraits are reminiscent of Cindy Sherman’s self-staging and call to mind the use of junk in installations by the New Realists, such as Arman and Jean Tingueley. With each of his works Thorsten Brinkmann seems to ask the same question: how does the present get on with the past, or how can genres be redefined. His oeuvre is to be considered as an adventurous search for the cohesion of genres, objects and eras.
Gemeentemuseum den Haag - Thorsten Brinkmann
12 juli t/m 5 oktober 2008