AMSTERDAM. Nel 2013, il premio Foam Paul Huf Award è stato assegnato al duo svizzero Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs. Ora Foam presenta il lavoro fotografico di questi due artisti nella mostra “Adding, Adding, Adding” che rimarrà aperta al pubblico fino all’11 maggio.
Onorato & Krebs hanno lavorato insieme su una serie di progetti di fotografia, scultura e installazione a partire dal 2003. Pochi soggetti, nei loro scatti, rimangono intatti nel loro complesso: nel loro lavoro, infatti, la realtà si scontra con la finzione. Tipica della loro opera è l’interazione con il carattere bidimensionale della fotografia. Le loro foto, infatti, sono modellate, come fanno gli scultori con le loro opere, fino ad ottenere un risultato finale perfetto e ludico; un concetto, questo, che hanno sviluppato durante i loro studi, in reazione al rigido stile documentaristico della scuola di Fotografia di Dusseldorf.
La loro grande svolta arriva dopo la pubblicazione del libro The Great Unreal (2009) in cui si mescola il cliché del grande paesaggio americano con il modo in cui innumerevoli fotografi lo hanno rappresentato. Onorato & Krebs hanno avuto mostre in luoghi tra cui la Kunsthalle Mainz, in Germania, nel 2011; Museum im Bellpark a Kriens, Svizzera nel 2010, Kunsthaus Aargau in Aurau, in Svizzera nel 2009, e PS1 MoMA di New York nel 2006. Hanno, inoltre, partecipato a mostre collettive quali PhotoIreland di Dublino e la Bundeskunsthalle a Bonn nel 2011, Fotohof Salisburgo, la Kunsthalle Munchen di Monaco di Baviera e il Kunstraum Düsseldorf nel 2010 e Fotomuseum Winterthur, Svizzera, nel 2009. Il loro lavoro è stato poi incluso in varie collezioni in Svizzera, tra cui Fotomuseum Winterthur. Un portafoglio dal duo è stato pubblicato su Foam Magazine #31. Onorato & Krebs vivono e lavorano a Zurigo e Berlino. La mostra è resa possibile dalla Pro Helvetia e JTI Arts Council svizzero.
English version. In 2013, the annual Foam Paul Huf Award was awarded to the Swiss duo Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs (b. 1979). The international jury was deeply impressed: “As true illusionists intent on pushing against the boundaries of the medium, Onorato & Krebs skillfully engage their audiences and convey some of the magic that lies at the core of photographic image-making.” Foam is proud to present Adding, Adding, Adding including brand new work by this duo, as part of the award.
Onorato & Krebs have been working together on a variety of projects on the cutting edge of photography, sculpture and installation since 2003. Few subjects remain untouched in their complex, yet highly accessible work, in which reality collides with fiction while humour converges with seriousness. In 2012, rising stars Onorato & Krebs presented their work in Foam for the first time. In Adding, Adding, Adding new films will be presented that are built on the play between illusion and reality in urban spaces. Exclusively for Foam, a site-specific installation is set up in the garden.
Tayio Onorato and Nico Krebs became acquainted during their studies at the Zurich University of the Arts. Typical of their oeuvre is the interplay with the two-dimensional character of photography. They carefully construct their photos as sculptors do, moulding them until the final result is perfect – often paired with a subtle feeling for humour. This playful approach was developed during their studies, in reaction to the influential but strict and rigid documentary style of the Dusseldorf School of Photography. Many of Onorato & Krebs’ projects reflect their vast knowledge of photography and photo history. Their big breakthrough followed the publication of the book The Great Unreal (2009) in which they mixed the cliché of the great American landscape with the way in which countless photographers have depicted it. Onorato & Krebs also took the nearly obligatory ‘American road trip’, but ended with a commentary on fact and fiction in photography that was both intelligent and absurdist.
Since completing university, Onorato & Krebs have had exhibitions in places including the Kunsthalle Mainz, Germany, in 2011; Museum im Bellpark in Kriens, Switzerland, in 2010; Kunsthaus Aargau in Aurau, Switzerland in 2009; and PS1 MoMA in New York in 2006. They have also participated in group shows such as PhotoIreland Dublin and the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn in 2011, Fotohof Salzburg, the Kunsthalle Munchen in Munich and the Kunstraum Düsseldorf in 2010, and Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland, in 2009. Their work is included in various collections in Switzerland, including Fotomuseum Winterthur. A portfolio by the duo has been published in Foam Magazine #31 Ref. Onorato & Krebs live and work in Zurich and Berlin. This exhibition is made possible by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and JTI.
Info: Foam
