Installation in Old Stone House, Kagkatika for Paxos Contemporary Art Project (2018), all images courtesy of Quintessenz
Hanover and Berlin-based art duo Quintessenz recently completed a large-scale installation for the newly funded Paxos Contemporary Art Project, which is currently taking place on the island of Paxos in the Adriatic sea. Although designed to be appreciated and enjoyed in person, the images of their intervention created inside of a 400-year-old ruin are quickly becoming viral due to the work’s strong contrast against the historic setting.
With roots in both graffiti and chromatics, Thomas Granseuer and Tomislav Topic of Quintessenz combine aspects of spray paint, textiles, installation, and the digital image in their work. Their large site-specific works and facade murals often uses shape as the main inspiration, while also borrowing aesthetic elements found on location.
The duo transform spaces into frameworks for presenting their abstract creations and challenging the spectator’s perception. These ideas are present in their recent installation Flickering Lights, which was was created for Fashion Week Berlin back in January 2018, and Pardis Perdus installed in Les Baux-de-Provence, France in 2017. In both of those installations, and their latest piece in Paxos, the artists use dyed or spray painted fabric in a range of layers as a way to interact with light conditions and points of view. The one-ton construction Flickering Lights was suspended in a large hall of Panorama Berlin from over 32,000 square feet of fabric and dyed with over 200 gallons of paint.
Similar to the Paradis Perdus piece, their latest intervention in Greece used the architectural structure to emphasize the effect of their creation. Like digital abstract images somehow transferring into the real world, both these pieces employ color shades and different size layers to create depth and perspective illusion. Appearing bigger and smaller depending on the observer’s movement, they leave room for individual experiences of these interfaces between analog and digital worlds. Although exceptionally photogenic, the artists’ idea is to enjoy these works in person. “We hope that the visitors of our work leave their mobile phone cameras in their pockets for a moment and simply enjoy the light and the translation of the wind in the material,” Quintessenz explains.
Paxos Contemporary Art Project runs through September 9, 2018. You can see more of Quintessenz’s installations on their website and Instagram.
Installation in Old Stone House, Kagkatika for Paxos Contemporary Art Project (2018)
Installation in Old Stone House, Kagkatika for Paxos Contemporary Art Project (2018)
Installation in Old Stone House, Kagkatika for Paxos Contemporary Art Project (2018)
“Paradis Perdus” (2017), Les Baux-de-Provence, France
“Paradis Perdus” (2017), Les Baux-de-Provence, France
“Paradis Perdus” (2017), Les Baux-de-Provence, France
“Flickering Lights” (2018), created for Panorama Fashion Week in Berlin
“Flickering Lights” (2018), created for Panorama Fashion Week in Berlin
“Flickering Lights” (2018), created for Panorama Fashion Week in Berlin
http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2018/07/colorful-installations-by-quintessenz/