Annette Streyl: High and Low, NextArt Gallery, 2009. 10. 29. – 12. 01.

Text: György Szegő

Annette Streyl / Paul Wallot - Foster: Reichstag, Berlin

The philosophy of the exhibition may be derived by the architect-visitor from Gottfried Semper’s famous Bekleidungstheorie. Even though some of the works on display here are made of a hard material, that is carved stone, we may as well decide they are entwined caricatures of architects and their buildings. Living in Hamburg, sculptor Annette Streyl learnt stone carving in Muthesius College in Kiel studying in Jan Koblasa’s class to later become a pupil of Franz Erhardt Walther at the University of Arts in Hamburg. Once upon a time the expertise and skills of a stone carver were one and the same thing falling within the fields of activity of an architect. As soon as they came to be separated from each other, Semper wrote his work (Der Stil in den technischen und tektonischen Künste oder praktische Ästhetik 1860-63) becoming up-to-date and relevant from time to time ever since. Whilst other works byStreyl ’represent’ buildings, nowadays she questions forms with the ’why’ of ration from a social-cultural and ecological viewpoint, whilst also exposing the fake, whatever it is.

Annette Streyl: Graffunder-Swora és a Palast der Republik (NDK Parlament)

Annette Streyl / Albert Speer: Grosse Halle terve Germania (Berlin) világfővárosába