Victor Auberjonois – What is the idea behind PASSAGE?
- Jonas
After they made a splash in the Berlin art scene with their exhibition “Polyphonic Views“ at Funkhaus Berlin this fall, I caught up with Victor Auberjonois who co-founded PASSAGE together with Konrad Biedenkopf.
We chatted about the idea behind the project, what they are looking for in art and their plans for the future.
Your recent exhibition “Polyphonic Views“ spans an impressive 8000m2 but let’s start at the beginning, at U-Bahn station Herrmannplatz. You have been putting on shows there for about a year in a space around 3m2 big. What was the idea behind showing art in this context?
The idea of PASSAGE is to have the viewer focus on a single artwork at a time while presenting it in an unexpected and public place – like an U-Bahn station. Some might only stay a few seconds, others even miss their train but regardless of how long they spend, their thoughts on the artwork will accompany them on their journey. Even if they don’t like it, hopefully they’re at least thinking about why they don’t like it.
So it’s about making people think?
Exactly. There’s this sentence of Robert Rauschenberg, which we’re really obsessed with. He says “the role of the artist is to be a witness of his time in history“. Something that also applies to the audience. It is not a passive exercise. It needs a personal effort to be present and to reflect.
What’s your background?
Mainly business. My partner, Konrad Biedenkopf, as well but we both are extremely interested in the creative field in general. We get easily impressed by quality, which we are always seeking around us. For example for this show, we had some metal frames made and Trinity, the welder, did such an amazing job. We praised her for like 20 minutes!
That’s interesting because you could say that the significance of craftsmanship in art is declining.
Yes, but there’s a craftsmanship of the mind too, to a well-rounded idea. Conceptual art is very difficult because the idea needs to be so good that we can dispense with the need of “craft execution“.
Looking at past exhibitions at Hermannplatz, I have the feeling that everything you show is very dark and moody. Is this the kind of artistic expression that fascinates you most?
We’re thinking about this often and it was a comment we received several times. I think it was the most common criticism we received – interestingly people reached out saying the art we’re presenting is oppressive and shouldn’t be in a public space.
Even though the works we show might sometimes seem concerning, for us planning an exhibition is first of all a matter of presentation, what fits into the space and its surroundings and Hermannplatz is quite a hectic U-Bahn station.
So the selection is very much based on the location?
Yes, but one also shares what their concerns are. I see a real shift in contemporary art these days. We carry different interests, views, and references than our parents did. It’s about tapping into our surroundings and emotions, which often feels darker. Even though everyone seems so progressive, our time is marked by judgement and indifference. It’s not the brightest moment to be alive, and I think contemporary art reflects this.
How did you approach the project at Funkhaus?
It started with our personal relationship with Monom. They built this amazing studio that explores sound as an artistic medium, something not regarded enough in the contemporary art world. Their goal is to create listening experiences that are so pure you wouldn’t need anything else than just to sit in a room and to listen. And really anyone who goes into Monom for the first time and listens to this sound gets a slap in the face, so did we.
From this experience came the idea for a collaboration where we focussed on the visual side of the experience they are creating with sound. Then we started thinking about the spatial dimension, almost as a holographic representation of sound. And since technology plays a big part in what they do, we also wanted to present technology infused works. We show kinetic works, works commenting on technology or requiring technology and even works with a sound component.
There are also a lot of works that make you smile, quirky and witty. This is something I really enjoy in art. I’m not too interested in the whole political dimension of art or rather who am I to be political? It might come one day but for now I’m just about searching for good art and sharing its energy.
Witnessing your time in history.
Exactly. We tend to laugh a bit about contemporary exhibition texts that require a doctoral degree to grasp the topic.
This is not how it’s supposed to be. I should just understand it by being there. Our texts are usually quite descriptive, focussing on a topic, explaining how the work relates to it and how we believe this is an interesting fit – sometimes we share a glimpse of our view on art – that’s it. And this exhibition is no different. It’s a selection of good artworks. Playing with the space and light is the most important to us. I really enjoy the element of surprise and incorporating the surroundings.
Was it difficult to get the artists to participate in this rather unconventional show?
Since this project is only run by Konrad and me, we can’t take all decisions ourselves. This results in involving the artist more and building organically. A lot of the artists in the show have been presented at PASSAGE Hermannplatz already and many of them actually know each other and were happy to be presented together.
Although I cringe at the word, we ended up building a community. I feel like a lot of galleries don’t have this personal relationship to the artist. People forget that curators are at the service of the artists. You should give them freedom and work with them to make the show happen in the best possible way. The biggest benchmark of success is if artists trust us. When they are happy with the work we’re doing, we did everything right.
What’s next for PASSAGE?
We are actually opening a space in Mexico City in November. Inspired by the city’s taco stands, we built a stainless steel container with a large vitrine, 3.5m long, 2.5m high. It will be located on Durango, one of the most beautiful streets in Mexico City, in front of the legendary restaurant Contramar. The environment is very jungle-like with a lot of trees and rundown facades around. At this location, we will be focussing on painting and it will be way more colorful – contrasting with the curation at Hermannplatz. I am looking forward to expanding on the idea that the surroundings dictate the mindset of the viewer and reception of the art.
And how did the project in Mexico come about?
Mexico is a very interesting city for art currently. They have established a strong fair, ZonaMaco, new galleries are opening every month and a lot of American collectors are going to Mexico to buy art these days.
The ultimate idea is to have PASSAGE in maybe 10 cities. I really enjoy the idea of it becoming a curatorial platform, a model I believe will grow in relevance in the coming years, for many reasons.
Why?
First of all, a gallery representation might be limiting for collaborations between artists. I’m convinced that artists want to have this stimulation. Secondly, we are not really interested in competing with the established galleries. I wish programs were held on loyalty but these days it’s different. The market has changed and artists join the best program for their career. It only makes sense they evolve to a bigger structure when a more established gallery comes calling. Thirdly for financial reasons. It’s about limiting the operation costs of the classic model. Galleries often have this huge overhead and run inefficiently. Lastly it allows flexibility, fast rotation and very few partners.
How are you financed?
It’s all financing itself. This exhibition has been financed by the sales of the past year.
So you do sell art.
You need money for good culture. I know the business side is often frowned upon in the art world but in the end, if you want to make good shows, have interesting spaces and proper installations, this requires money and ultimately the only way to make money is to sell art.
Even though, if we didn’t, we would still do it. It is our side project and all the money we make through the sale of art is put back into making more exhibitions.
