Veronika Veit
You give me what you want yourself

Ranging from modified living and clothing accessories over headless figures and strange-looking monitors presenting videos to a Möbius strip in a closet: Veronika Veit’s comprehensive multimedia installation “you give me what you want yourself”, which is the central piece of her second exhibition at Esther Donatz Gallery, consists of everyday life fragments. Even though the chosen objects appear to be familiar, Veronika Veit’s artistic universe remains enigmatic: The bizarre combination of diverse elements made of various materials such as wood, synthetics or textiles contributes to the complexity of the installation. This concept is underlined by the dualism of static and dynamic structures, orderliness and anarchy, control and autonomy.

Veronika Veit draws inspiration from everyday situations, but also popular culture as it is expressed in films or virtual realities. Being an observer of social developments she translates topics of universal relevance into private sceneries. Thus, the statement “you give me what you want yourself”, which relates to both material and immaterial matters, is condensed into a more general subject.  In her exhibition at Esther Donatz Gallery Veronika Veit explores the boundaries between the autonomy and manipulation of social decision-making and behavior. The title which can be read on a drawer raises issues of perception, self-reflection and recognition of the other as well as interpersonal communication. How authentic is one’s own and other people’s behavior? How much does everybody depend on the social system? Under which circumstances and to what extent can the violation of norms, rules and laws be justified?

A further sculpture in the show is a contemporary homage to Tilman Riemenschneider’s famous altar piece, the repentant Mary Magdalene, which was made for the Parish Church Münnerstadt, Germany, around 1490/92 and now can be found at the Bavarian National Museum, Munich. Carved in a new technique as a full-body haired, it went down in art history as a masterpiece of sculpture. Veronika Veit’s version of the penitent wears a protective mask comparable to those used in the TV series BREAKING BAD for the production of the drug crystal meth. Is the mask of any value? At least, it pretends to offer some shelter.  Inspired, among others, by theories of Meister Eckhart and Thomas of Aquin, further sculptures presented at Esther Donatz Gallery are depicted in moments of contemplation and retreat – even though not in the desert which turned out as a place of refuge for both the repentant Mary Magdalene and the protagonist of BREAKING BAD.

Veronika Veit (*1968, lives and works in Munich) received the Bavarian State Award of the Arts in 2006 and has shown her work in renowned institutions, e.g. at numerous art associations (Kunstvereine), Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Museum of Contemporary Art of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and at Palais d’Iéna, Paris. Recently, the artist participated in exhibitions at Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen, and – as part of the PIN. Auction – at Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich. Works by Veronika Veit can be found in significant collections, such as the Caldic Collection, Rotterdam, and the Goetz Collection, Munich.

The artist will be present during the exhibition opening.

Contact

Esther Donatz
esther(at)galeriedonatz.de

Nadine Seligmann
nadine(at)galeriedonatz.de

Phone: +49 89 70 07 62 00+49 89 70 07 62 00