HAGD Contemporary
Rasmus Søndergaard Johannsen
09.11.2024 - 21.12.2024
The current exhibition at HAGD Contemporary is Rasmus Søndergaard Johannsens first solo exhibition with the gallery.
The groups of works exhibited, Patterns (2020/2024), Lineated Luminary (2018-2024), Pivot (2012-2020), Wound (2022) and the new work Untitled (2024), all have a repetitive moment in common. Rasmus Søndergaard Johannsen’s works describe a rhythm that reflects the specific characteristics of producing and designing textile art while also affording space to the symbolic charge of its materials.
Lineated Luminary consists of frames of woven textiles made from stinging nettles that were gathered by night at a specific wasteland site in Berlin and later in Thy, Denmark. The fibres were extracted from these nettles, spun and woven. The resulting textile structure was treated with a photosensitive emulsion and returned to the same place where the nettles were harvested. The frame was illuminated by the moon all night long. Anything that fell onto the surfaces created a shadow and remained unexposed, while the rest of the fabric darkened to a shade of indigo.
Patterns is inspired by the ideologically driven nature of textile production in Russia in the early 20th century. Protagonists of Cubism like Varvara Stepanova created designs for durable garments suitable for mass production. In the spirit of aesthetic transformation, the abstract design principles of colour fields, lines and basic geometric shapes were applied to specific consumer goods such as clothing, interiors and graphic design. Today, they remain an expression of the utopia that once sought to break down hierarchical structures in society and the barriers between art, craftsmanship and industrial production.
Wound is composed of abnormally large handmade tassels. It brings together the topics addressed by Lineated Luminary, which embodies time in textile form, and the Patterns series, which appropriates textiles whose design conveys a message that extends from the present into the future. In the same way as for Lineated Luminary, the individual elements of Wound are carefully crafted by hand. As well as bearing witness to the laborious work involved in their creation, the tassels embody different forms of power and call this power into question. The designs of the tassels are inspired by military uniforms, curtains and BDSM toys. In this way, they reflect private and public chastisement and playful, orchestrated and institutionalised power imbalances.
Untitled consist of colored handmade glass shapes mounted on anti-reflective glass in colaboration with the glass workshop Gustav van Treeck in Munich.
The high speed at which we currently consume images flickers on our retinas. The images are smooth, without texture or haptics – they are the opposite of our bodies, the texture of our skin. They overstimulate eyes and ears, overshadowing our other senses. From a distance, Untitled appears to be part of the same flickering. Upon closer inspection, more flaws, variations, and details reveal themselves over time.
Born in Denmark, Rasmus Søndergaard Johannsen studied under Peter Fischli and Simon Starling at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main from 2008 to 2014. Since beginning his studies, he has worked on long-term projects that require him to familiarise himself with the preparatory and work techniques of master craftsmen and technicians. The repetitive processes involved in production, rhythms of action and pattern repeats typically provide the starting point for the content and form of his work. This necessarily means that every element is handmade. Rasmus Søndergaard Johannsen has exhibited his work in locations including Prague, Antwerp, Paris, New York City, Copenhagen, Berlin, Stockholm and London. This is his first solo exhibition in Denmark after the relocation from Berlin to Denmark in 2022.
Text by Marina Rüdiger and Rasmus Søndergaard Johannsen