West West West, Leipzig
2017,
C-Print,
20 x 30 cm.
Kang Contemporary
Franz Grünewald
Exhibition: FUSION OF EVIDENCE
SELECTED WORKS
Lug ins Land
Lug ins Land
Freital, Clausnitz, Heidenau, Bautzen, Chemnitz, Zwickau, Dresden – places all connected by certain associations: racist assaults, Pegida, Hitlergruß, inhumane chants, Bürgerwehr, NSU. The federal state of Saxony has a problem with right-wing extremism. Studies in the Sachsen- Monitor show that although Saxons are mostly content with their personal circumstances, they agree with racist, anti-democratic and national theses, much more than the majority of the German population.
Starting in 2016, Franz Grünewald (born 1993 in Plauen, Sachsen) investigated places of his childhood, but also unfamiliar places. Along the way, he encountered old friends, strangers, silence, ceaseless political conflicts, as well as traces of everyday life, and yet, he couldn't find a simple explanation for the complex political and social situation in Saxony. The federal state and its people reveal their ambivalence between- melancholy and euphoria, modernity and solitude, and anger and apathy. The photographic works of Lug ins Land stay fragmentary and mysterious. They don't want to describe anything and don't claim integrity and is more about hints and illusions which can be read in multiple ways. Among portraits, landscapes and city shots, the still lifes and findings are the photographs giving an insight into how people in Saxony live and what's on their mind. Many of the images radiate a sense of calm and are classical composure. However, through the unusual selection of objects, a unique dramaturgy is unfurled.
Saxony, 2017
Franz Grünewald
CV
1993 — Born in Plauen, Germany
2012 — Started working as a Freelance Photographer Education
2017 — Bachelor of Arts Communication Design/Photography University of Applied Sciences, Potsdam
Exhibitions / Awards
2018 — Politiken des Designs Kunstraum Potsdam
2017 — Neue Tradition Objekte unserer Tage, Berlin
2016 — Trafo 1 Leipziger Buchmesse, Leipzig 2 Kulturstiftung des Bundes, Halle
2012 — Deutscher Jugendfotopreis Winner, Category »Imaging«