Remembering Paul at Manifold Books, Amsterdam

Manifold Books #24
Remembering Paul
Paul Hoecker Research Group
with works by Paul Hoecker
and Philipp Gufler
21/09/'24-26/10/'24

Opening
21/09/'24, 4-6pm
location: MAP

We would like to invite you to the opening of Remembering Paul by the Paul Hoecker Research Group (art historians Nicholas Maniu and Christina Spachtholz, architect Stefan Gruhne and artist Philipp Gufler) with works by Paul Hoecker and Philipp Gufler.

Throughout his life, the Munich based artist and teacher Paul Hoecker (1854-1910) has been an inspiration to artists of various generations. A founding member of the Munich Secession and a true innovator, during his professorship at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts he brought his students in contact with new movements in painting, such as Impressionism. In 1898 however, a scandal forced him to resign from this position, as he allegedly used a male sex worker as a model for his depiction of the Madonna in the painting Ave Maria. However, the true underlying reason was likely the revelation of his own homosexuality. Although he continued to be supported by his students, following his death in 1910, his work was largely forgotten. Remembering Paul is not only an ode to the artist and his work, but it also makes space for queer histories and intergenerational grieving in a wider sense.

Remembering Paul showcases letters, sketches and photographs on loan from the grassroots archive Forum Queeres Archiv München (FQAM); two prints by Philipp Gufler after a portrait by Paul Hoecker of Nino Cesarini in Capri; as well as a small interior painting by the artist and a slide show comprising all of his paintings known so far. Many of Paul Hoecker's works were lost over time, but throughout this projection, these otherwise vanished pieces find representation within an exhibition, offering them a new life and audience. Consisting of members of the FQAM, the Paul Hoecker Research Group has been tracing back the individual paintings forming his oeuvre, spanning from Dutch genre paintings to religious moral paintings, landscapes, Pierrot figures, and, after his dismissal from the academy, also more homoerotic portraits. After having been almost entirely forgotten for over a century, this show stresses the urgency to celebrate his work and legacy.

Manifold Books
Kraijenhoffstraat 34
1018RL Amsterdam

Open
Fri + Sat 1 - 5 p.m. 
and by appointment

Photos: Lazimg or Lazoo

Blooming Archive

BLOOMING ARCHIVE

4/10/ - 03/11/2024

Opening: Thursday, 03/10/2024 at 5 p.m. 

With works by Pablo Lerma, Philipp Gufler, Tabea Nixdorff, Pauline Agustoni, Christian Friedrich, Jacquill G. Basdew and Oscar Eriksson Furunes.

This exhibition features works by seven Dutch and international artists who have researched the IHLIA – LGBTQ collection through their respective practices. Each piece is driven by a different approach of dealing with archival documents: Some of them creatively reframe archival objects to reconstruct and revitalize fragmented histories, forgotten figures, and activist strategies. Others apply montage and collage strategies based on archival holdings, highlighting questions surrounding the ordering and preserving of subaltern heritage.

Together, the works engulf a wide medial range, spanning from textiles and books to sculpture, sound, and video installation. All displays date from the last few years, reflecting the continuously growing relevance of archival art. The exhibition thus offers an insight into contemporary artistic discourses renegotiating art’s access to and participation in LGBTQIA+ history.

The motivation behind artistic research in non-heteronormative archives is not simply to extract material but also to add to the collections by way of critical inquiry and new creations. How then does archival art contribute to queer and trans heritage? By going beyond the traditional logics of archival ordering and display, archival art speculatively explores the potentials of new readings of archival records. In this regard, aesthetic sensibilities strategically recover evasive traces of intimacy and sexuality, instantiating an alternative and indirect form of archiving.

One of the central goals of the exhibition is to bring the different works and approaches into conversation, sounding out their intersecting concerns and interests in a still understudied field. Furthermore, the selection of works underscores the importance of the added value that comes from the artistic making tangible of the abundance and plentitude of queer and trans lives, routinely submerged in dominant narratives of vulnerability, loss, and death. 

Curated by Sandro Weilenmann. 

IHLIA
(3rd floor OBA Oosterdok)
Oosterdokskade 143
1011 DL Amsterdam

Free entrance
Mo-Fr: 08.00 – 22.00 hrs
Sa-Su: 10.00 – 20.00 hrs