Paper on Paper

PAPER and Axel Obiger present Paper on Paper, a collaborative exhibition between two artist-led galleries from Manchester and Berlin. Paper on Paper marks the second part of an exchange between the two galleries. At Our Still Lives Posed was due to take place in Berlin in late-March, with the reciprocal exhibition in Manchester taking place in late July. Instead both exhibitions will be presented online, with the physical exhibitions re-scheduled for 2021.
Axel Obiger have attempted to reconsider a suitable solution for a online exhibition without losing the analogue experience of being physically present in the space. In response, the team at Axel Obiger have worked tirelessly to recreate PAPER’s gallery space, and situate it in their Berlin gallery. This hugely inventive take on the potential of online exhibitions highlights the determination of artists to maintain international artistic co-operations within the context of the current situation. Paper on Paper highlights the immense creative possibilities that are still possible under the restraints of the pandemic.

Axel Obiger made the decision to fabricate the interior of PAPER gallery in 1:1 scale out of cardboard. Matching PAPER’s blue walls alongside specific features within the gallery - the window, pipe work, and radiator – Axel Obiger have used this set to curate and install an exhibition of work on paper.

Axel Obiger have also documented the whole process of construction and installation, which is available on PAPER’s website. It is essential for audiences to see the lengths that the artists have gone to, fabricating a convincing substitute. Paper on Paper also refers to the experience of engaging with an exhibition in real time: how the work engages with the space and the audience, the tactility and physicality of the actual work, and the experience of visiting a gallery. These are important factors in how we engage with art in reality as opposed to the experience of looking at something on screen.  Through the act of construction, the artists hope to draw attention to these matters; they are implicit within the project, whilst still engaging with audiences through the screen. 
Paper on Paper comments on the particular situation of stagnation that is being experienced. The result is a site-specific installation without being on site.
Installation View
Artwork

Gabriele Kuenne
Studio Series #3
Ink jet printing and oil on paper,
29 x 20 cm
2020

Gabriele Kuenne
Studio Series #4
Ink jet printing and oil on paper,
29 x 20 cm
2020

Enrico Niemann
Flow
Acrylic resin, paper, cardboard,
32 x 44 cm,
2019

Enrico Niemann
Trace#3
Acrylic resin, paper, cardboard
61 x 59 cm,
2019

Matthias Moravek
Turbulence II
Crayon on paper,
30 x 20 cm,
2020

Matthias Moravek
Turbulence I
Crayon on paper,
30 x 20 cm,
2020

Matthias Moravek
Turbulence IV
Crayon on paper,
30 x 20 cm,
2020

Nathalie Grenzhäuser
Meteorit, from the series Coincidence
Archival Fine Art Print on Hahnemühle Paper 42 x 56,3 cm, Nr.1/5 + 2 AP
2016

Nathalie Grenzhäuser
Eclipse from the series Coincidence
Archival Fine Art Print on Hahnemühle Paper
42 x 56,3 cm,
2016
Nr.1/5 + 2 AP

Thilo Droste 
Signature Droste Effect
Risographie,
ca.40x30cm,
2014
ex.3-65

Alke Brinkmann
O.T.
mixed media on paper
40cm x 40cm
2002/2020

Juliane Duda 
final cut 14
paper milling,
23.5 x 32.3 cm
2020

Juliane Duda 
final cut 15
paper milling,
23.5 x 32.3 cm
2020

Harriet Groß
G ier (G reed)
C-print on Japanese Kozo Paper, Carbonpaper drawing
70 x 44 cm
2020

Maja Rohwetter
gemischte Gefühle #3
collage,
60 x 40 cm,
2018

The Making of Paper on Paper
About Axel Obiger
Axel Obiger is a space for contemporary art in Berlin-Mitte. Since its foundation in 2009, it has been promoting two-person and thematic exhibitions to promote a dialogue between the nine permanent gallery artists and invited guest artists and curators. Axel Obiger sees itself as a platform for socially relevant questions that are expressed in increasingly sophisticated artistic ideas and positions. 

Axel Obiger not only create a contact point for Berlin-based and international artistic positions, but also a place for intensive artistic discussion. The exhibitions take place on a monthly basis and are accompanied by lectures, performances, and screenings. Axel Obiger receives the Award for Artistic Project Rooms from the Berlin Senate for Culture and Europe, as well as funding from VG BildKunst and Berlin Senate.