Hein Spellmann
Hein Spellmann begins with detailed photographs of urban architecture and turns them into façade objects, organized on the wall as individual pieces or in small groups. His original interest was in typical Eastern European »Plattenbau«, made by prefabricated elements, but in the meantime he has expanded his architectural repertoire to include other forms, such as the façades of stairwells, hotels, industrial buildings, or storefronts. His work is based on photographic urban explorations in various European countries, whereby he has recently taken up a number of Berlin architectures, including well-known buildings of post-war modernism.
The realization of the objects, however, always follows the same principle: Hein Spellmann backs the color prints on foam, braces them with a block of wood, and finally seals them with a transparent layer of silicon, which gives his objects a sculptural, three-dimensonal form. By this he creates elastic wall elements, which, depending on the section, format, and color scheme, allow for different degrees of abstraction and narrative forms.
And just as the process of realizing those objects corresponds to the construction of modulare buildings, the way they are transformed into autonomous residential units also reveals a utopian dimension in his handling of the city and architecture. This is not only based in the playful elements with which the objects are always being formed and reformed, (something like a set of building blocks), but it is also expressed in the fact that the buildings then take on the form of portable modules or mobile homes, amounting to a kind of individual appropriation.
VITA
1962
born in Bassum
1982-88
Academy of Fine Arts, Braunschweig
1997
Working grant, Foundation Kulturfonds, Berlin
1998
Art Award, Stadtsparkasse Magdeburg
lives and works in Berlin
SOLO EXHIBITIONS (SELECTION)
2023
Neustadt, Kunstverein Damianstor, Bruchsal
Stadt am Fluss, DavisKlemm Gallery, Wiesbaden
2022
House and Window, Galleri Thomassen, Gothenburg
2021
Mustersiedlung, Rasche Ripken, Berlin
Berliner Mischung, DavisKlemm Gallery, Wiesbaden
2018
Fassade, Kunstverein Unna
City Site, Rasche Ripken, Berlin (with Jan Ros)
2017
Artelli Gallery, Antwerp (with Pedro Correa)
2016
Stadt Bild, Galerie Gans, Vienna (with Fabian Patzak)
Nordseite, Galerie Delikatessenhaus, Leipzig
Immobile, Rasche Ripken, Berlin
Phänomen, basement, Vienna (with Heidrun Widmoser)
Nordostansicht, Künstlerhaus Göttingen
2015
Im-Haus-Sein, Stichting Villa de Bank, Enschede
2014
Außenhaut, Rasche Ripken, Berlin
2012
The Solo Project, Basel (with Rasche Ripken)
Vom Rand zur Mitte, Rasche Ripken, Berlin
Kunstverein Remise Bludenz
2011
Delta Tigers, Vorwerk Syke (with Heinrich Brockmann)
2010
City Surfaces, Galleri Thomassen, Goteborg
2009
Zwischen Wand und Mauer, Rasche Ripken, Berlin
2008
Vorübergehend gemietet, Rundhof Rathaus Charlottenburg, Berlin
Zulässige Abweichung, U.B.R. Galerie, Salzburg
2007
Weichbild, Umtrieb, Galerie für aktuelle Kunst, Kiel
2006
Blue Opening, Galleri Udengaard, Arhus
Hausordnung, Galerie Stefan Rasche, Münster
(with Beate Spalthoff)
2005
Sideways, U.B.R. Galerie, Salzburg
2004
Objekte, Architektur Galerie, Berlin
Stadt im Schlaf, Galerie Turbinenhaus, Wendlingen/Neckar
Lost Landscape, Galleri Thomassen, Goteborg (with Lap Yip)
2003
Fenster, Kunstraum No. 10, Mönchengladbach
2001
vis-à-vis, U.B.R. Galerie, Salzburg
Kunsthalle Vierseithof, Luckenwalde
Auf Montage, Galerie Stefan Rasche, Münster
2000
Einsichten – Ansichten, Torhaus-Galerie Braunschweig
(with Margund Smolka)
Populous, Galleri Bergman, Goteborg (with Margund Smolka)
K.A.P. Kunstverein, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin
1999
Behältnisse, Waschhaus Potsdam (with Margund Smolka)
1997
heimisch werden, Kunstverein Wolfenbüttel
Ausblick, Galerie Stefan Rasche, Münster
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (SELECTION)
2022
Warme Gefühle, DavisKlemm Gallery, Wiesbaden
2020
Urbane Residenzen, Galerie Gans, Vienna
2019
Anders Platz, installations in public space, Berlin
ZOOM, Rasche Ripken, Berlin
2018
Full House – 10 Jahre, Rasche Ripken, Berlin
40 Jahre Künstlerhaus Göttingen, Künstlerhaus Göttingen
2017
Picture this, Rasche Ripken, Berlin
2016
12+1, Artelli Gallery, Antwerp
2015
Neubau, Rasche Ripken, Berlin
Muster*prozess, Rasche Ripken, Berlin
2013
Halte Dich fern von offenen Fenstern, Rasche Ripken, Berlin
Nordwestkunst 2013, Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven
Rauminterventionen X, Kunstverein Gelsenkirchen
48 Stunden Neukölln, Berlin (Installation)
2012
Urbane Geometrie, U.B.R. Galerie Salzburg
2011
Jahresausstellung, Kunstverein Unna
Licht, Luft und Liebe, Künstlerhaus Potsdam
Sommerschau, Kunst und Kulturverein Alte Schule, Baruth
BS-Visite, Rebenpark, Braunschweig
2010
Das Bad, Kunstraum t27, Berlin
2009
Glück gehabt! Kunst im Untergrund, NGBK Berlin
2008
1:X (Raum/Modell), Rasche Ripken Berlin
2007
countdown, Galerie Stefan Rasche, Münster
art-box, Kunsthalle Dominikanerkirche, Osnabrück
2006
Part of the overview, Larm Galleri, Copenhagen
2005
Metropolis, National Museum Szczecin
Neue Heimat 1, Galerie Stefan Rasche, Münster
2004
Architektur im Bild, M3 Kunsthalle, Berlin
Landschaft umbaut, Projektgalerie Leipzig
Musterhaus, Kunstverein Tiergarten, Berlin
2003
The City, U.B.R. Galerie, Salzburg
Raum01, Galerie Bebensee, Hamburg
2002
Neubau II, Galerie Stefan Rasche, Münster
Urbane Sequenzen, Kunsthalle Erfurt, Schloss Ringenberg
Vor Ort, Kunst und Kulturverein Alte Schule, Baruth
2001
Wer hat Angst vor Roger Whittaker?, Freunde Aktueller Kunst, Zwickau
Künstlerische Partnerschaften, Stadtgalerie Kiel
2000
ARK 2000 – an experimental work, Dilston Grove, London
1999
Testbild, Galerie Stefan Rasche, Münster
1998
Ohne Stein und Eisen, Kunstsammlung Neubrandenburg
Stadtluft macht frei, Galerie HO, Berlin
1997
Common Space, Zámocký Park, Pestinok, Slovakia
Artbridge London-Berlin, Dock 11, Berlin
Space-Living-Dimensions, Zollhaus Leer
1996
Der große Zug der Koffer, Studio bildende Kunst, Berlin
Out of this space, Café Gallery, London
1995
Frühlingserwachen, Kunstverein Hannover