Lothar Hempel

Lothar Hempel (born 1966 in Cologne) is a German artist based in Berlin. He attended Kunstakademie Düsseldorf from 1987 to 1992.

Artistic practice Hempel transforms the exhibition space into a stage on which the visitor becomes an actor in a story full of cross-references and contradictions. The works are at once the synopsis, the set, the characters and the props of a play. They represent the different parts of a narrative created out of references to German history, psychology, Greek tragedy, cinema, music, political and social history, neurology, and modern dance, for instance..

Hempel borrows a number of different styles and strategies, whether invented by Dada, Constructivism, the Bauhaus or Joseph Beuys. He uses visual metaphors by incorporating images or found objects.

Exhibition history In 2007 Hempel's work was the subject of the retrospective exhibition 'Alphabet City' curated by Florence Derieux at Le Magasin, Grenoble. Museum exhibitions include Casanova, The Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2008); Concentrations 42, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas (2002), and Propaganda, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (2002). Lothar Hempel's work has been included in the exhibitions Heaven, Athens Biennale (2009), Le Song D’un Poete, Frac des Pays de la Loire, Nantes (2009); Beaufort 03, Triennial for Contemporary Art, Blankenberge (2009); 7th Gwangju Biennial (2008); Pale Carnage, Arnolfini, Bristol and DCA, Dundee (2007); Imagination becomes Reality. Werke aus der Sammlung Goetz, ZKM – Museum für Neue Kunst, Karlsruhe (2007).

Hempel has exhibited regularly since 1991, during which time his work has been seen in exhibitions at art institutions, among them: the Venice Biennale; Tate Liverpool, ICA, London; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; MoMA PS1, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Portikus, Frankfurt am Main; Secession, Vienna; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.

Solo Exhibitions

2018 Le Terrain Vague, Modern Art, London Koexistenz, Window on Broad project space, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA, USA Gargoyle, Italic, Berlin, Germany 2017 Oral Heart, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA FUTURE MUSIC, Casado Santapau, Madrid, Spain 2016 Working Girl, Sies + Höke, Düsseldorf, Germany Sex and the City, Art : Concept, Paris, France 2015 Tropenkoller, Modern Art, London 2014 PEOPLE LIKE YOU MAKE IT EASY, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA Luggage and Observations, Galerie Klaus Gerrit Friese, Stuttgart, Germany 2013 Loneliness is a cloak you wear, a deep shade of blue is always there, Gerhardsen Gerner, Berlin, Germany Songs for the Blind, Hezi Cohen Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel Art Basel Parcours, Museum Kleines Klingental, Basel, Switzerland 2012 The Story of the Old New Girls, Art : Concept, Paris, France Opium, La Conservera, Ceuti, Spain 2011 Suedehead, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA 2010 Silberblick / Squint, Modern Art, London ZOO, Sadler's Wells, London Pyramix Pix, c/o – Gerhardsen Gerner, Berlin, Germany 2009 Kats, Nerves, Shadows & Gin, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA Rise and Fall, MGM, Oslo, Norway Cafe Kaputt, Gio Marconi, Milan, Italy 2008 Casanova & Other Problems, Modern Art, London Casanova, Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, Ireland Signal, Art : Concept, Paris, France 2007 Alphabet City, Magasin – Centre National d’Art Contemporain, Grenoble, France Modern Art, London Effetti Speciali, Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany 2006 Vanessa Baird - Me, myself and the other one, Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany Umbrella, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA Tarantella, Bar Ornella, Cologne, Germany 2005 Casa Musica (extrema), Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany Butterfly, c/o Alte Gerhardsen, Art Nova, Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami, FL, USA 2004 Fieber/Fever: 5 New Paintings and Other Stories, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA Ikarus, Art : Concept, Paris, France On The Olympus, Unlimited Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece Versteck!, with Petra Hollenbach, Parkhaus, Düsseldorf, Germany 2003 Der Gesang der Vögel ist Sinnlos!, The Song of the Bird is Nonsense, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA 2002 Diamanten, c/o Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany Fleisch: Maschine, Magnani, London Concentrations 42, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, USA Propaganda, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London Wespennest, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, USA 2001 Magnet, Art : Concept, Paris, France 2000 Das Orakel l’chelt. das Orakel lacht. das Orakel l’chelt, Ars Futura Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland An Schlaf ist Nicht zu Denken, Lab of Gravity, Hamburg, Germany Wespennest (Wasps Nest) Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA 1999 Amerika Verschwindet nur das L’cheln Bleibt (America Disappears Only the Smile Remains), Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA KAPUTT und die Folgen (Kaputt and the Consequences), Robert Prime, London Videos, Centre Saint Gervais, Geneva, Switzerland 1998 Ein Sandstrand voll Glas (A Beach Full of Glass), Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne, Germany Kunstschnee will Schmelzen, Bureau Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands 1997 Samstag Morgen, Zuckersumpf, Robert Prime, London This Bittersweet Disaster, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA 1996 Strom, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA The Bienenkorb Times, Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne, Germany FRAC Languedoc Roussillon, Montpellier, France 1994 LOW, Artistbooth, Cologne Art Fair, Cologne, Germany LA BOUM, with Thorsten Slama, New Reality Mix, Stockholm, Sweden2007 Alphabet City, Magasin – Centre National d’Art Contemporain, Grenoble, France Modern Art, London Effetti Speciali, Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany 2006 Vanessa Baird - Me, myself and the other one, Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany Umbrella, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA Tarantella, Bar Ornella, Cologne, Germany 2005 Casa Musica (extrema), Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany Butterfly, c/o Alte Gerhardsen, Art Nova, Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami, FL, USA 2004 Fieber/Fever: 5 New Paintings and Other Stories, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA Ikarus, Art : Concept, Paris, France On The Olympus, Unlimited Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece Versteck!, with Petra Hollenbach, Parkhaus, Düsseldorf, Germany 2003 Der Gesang der Vögel ist Sinnlos!, The Song of the Bird is Nonsense, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA 2002 Diamanten, c/o Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany Fleisch: Maschine, Magnani, London Concentrations 42, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, USA Propaganda, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London Wespennest, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, USA 2001 Magnet, Art : Concept, Paris, France 2000 Das Orakel l’chelt. das Orakel lacht. das Orakel l’chelt, Ars Futura Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland An Schlaf ist Nicht zu Denken, Lab of Gravity, Hamburg, Germany Wespennest (Wasps Nest) Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA 1999 Amerika Verschwindet nur das L’cheln Bleibt (America Disappears Only the Smile Remains), Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA KAPUTT und die Folgen (Kaputt and the Consequences), Robert Prime, London Videos, Centre Saint Gervais, Geneva, Switzerland 1998 Ein Sandstrand voll Glas (A Beach Full of Glass), Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne, Germany Kunstschnee will Schmelzen, Bureau Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands 1997 Samstag Morgen, Zuckersumpf, Robert Prime, London This Bittersweet Disaster, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA 1996 Strom, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY, USA The Bienenkorb Times, Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne, Germany FRAC Languedoc Roussillon, Montpellier, France 1994 LOW, Artistbooth, Cologne Art Fair, Cologne, Germany LA BOUM, with Thorsten Slama, New Reality Mix, Stockholm, Sweden OMRON: six videos by Lothar Hempel, Preview Theatre Wardour Street, London Bewegungslehre (No Future), Buchholz und Buchholz, Cologne, Germany 1992 240 Minuten, with George Graw, Galerie Esther Schipper, Cologne, Germany

Galleries

Lothar Hempel is represented by Art:Concept, Paris; Giò Marconi Gallery, Milan; Gerhardsen Gerner, Berlin/Oslo; Anton Kern Gallery, New York; Stuart Shave/Modern Art, London, and Casado Santapau Gallery, Madrid.

Selected Collections Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Norway

David Roberts Art Foundation, London

Centre national des arts plastiques, Paris, France

Fondazione Morra Greco, Naples, Italy

Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy

FRAC Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France

FRAC Limousin, Limoges, France

FRAC des Pays de la Loire, Carquefou, France

Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst GfZK, Leipzig, Germany

Honart Museum / Ebrahim Melamed Collection, Tehran, Iran

Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA

Sammlung Goetz, Munich, Germany

The Saatchi Gallery, London

Zabludowicz Collection, London