Felix Gmelin

Felix Gmelin says he derives the inspiration for his  art from Korean-American curator Miwon Kwon, whose texts deal with site-specific art, treatment of the exhibition space, and the manner in which the works shown interact socially, politically and aesthetically with this space. Looking back at Land Art and late Modernist sculpture, Miwon Kwon maps out how artists can create a “Locational Identity” – an identity opposed to the globalised sameness of turbo-capitalist shopping malls, architecture, franchised coffee shops and indifferent global advertising. “Whether we reclaim the city, the white cube or the media, we are always in public space and addressing the community we share.” In this talk, Felix Gmelin will try to trace how Miwon Kwon’s texts have influenced his artistic practice. He is interested in how artistic methodologies can be used in times of social change, and how social change, in turn, can become part of personal cultural practice.