CHRIS SUCCO
INFO
DUVE Berlin is pleased to present the second solo exhibition of Düsseldorf and London based artist CHRIS SUCCO *The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over The Hills*. The exhibition features new sculptures, collages and two new workgroups on canvas.
In his upcoming exhibition Succo shows his large-sized "Dye Paintings" for the first time. The motives and patterns were created by the artist, printed with a special technique onto cotton and then hand-dyed. The dyeing process is an association of Succo´s work with analogue photography whereby the canvas replaces the photographic paper and the dye replaces the developer. Although the work is based on the same basic motif this development process creates impressive originals. This method is an interrelation between the artist, the chemical and the material.
Succo´s ‘Pattern Paintings’ follow up such use of apparent, mechanically generated patterns as a starting point. These patterns are screen printed on raw canvases and revised several times to achieve subtle and obvious differences between the works. Succo´s new sculptures play with the contrast between immediate directness and lasting substance. They are expressive creations - nonetheless carefully elaborate and detailed.


*Double egg, chips and beans*

We may be the most restless people ever. We move around a lot. We see things remotely, we see things at speed , we find it hard to dwell on things. Our eyes are invited to rest on very few things, but that reciprocity of looking ,and being mirrored, remains a speciality of humans. From childhood curiosity all the way to the accomplishments of those who have enjoyed a life time of seeing. Mountainous cathedrals and tumescent megaliths ask us ‘who put that there?’. We can detect the sense of purpose ,and we delight in the sense of authorship ,anonymised by time. These people were journeymen , moving from site to site. Its exactly the same way that highways ,bridges and power stations get made.Its what artists did. Its what they all do now. Its what Chris Succo is doing. RICHARD WENTWORTH - London, May 2011


*For Chris Succo*

The first time is a re-enactment. Face pushed to the glass and shown what you’re missing. By the one who took it. The Roman Empire was a Ponzi scheme. He wrote, “Her eyes are as innocent as a map.” Innocence requires that there be no intent. When you identify opposites, you become aware of consequences. An old tiger and a peach. Sickness and youth. Repetition and wonder. These will be part of the voice on the wall. And I’ve forgotten the word for what sculpture rests on, but keeping with example, as accurate as the messenger’s death, it will be soft like pistol. PAUL WASSERMAN - Writer, New York
Succo subtly uses snapshots of our current affairs and creates works in an artistic autonomy that involves transformations of objects and iconography of our epoch. In his new works he examines the rediscovery and consistency of symbols, shapes and meanings. The emphasis is on the evolution of such objects, their oblivion and their rediscovery in another time. Doing so, Succo creates an environment in which his works correlate with each other and establish a coherent atmosphere.
Chris Succo was born in 1979 in Dusseldorf. He was a Meisterschuler of Georg Herold at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and after his graduation in 2009 he studied at the Goldsmiths College in London. Since 2010 Succo is a master student at the Royal College of Art in London. The artist's work has been exhibited internationally. His recent exhibitions include: *FIN*, Kunstverein Düsseldorf; * Addition and Subtraction *, 304 Days, Canada, * Panorama *, Kunstverein Schichtwechsel, Liechtenstein and * Along The Rhine *, KIT (Kunst im Tunnel), Düsseldorf. Succo received the dHCS studio grant from the Kunstverein Dusseldorf in 2009 and the prestigious EHF scholarship of the Konrad- Adenauer- Foundation in 2010. He lives and works in London, UK and Dusseldorf, Germany.
 
DUVE Berlin freut sich, die zweite Einzelausstellung des in Düsseldorf und London lebenden Künstlers CHRIS SUCCO *The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over The Hills* präsentieren zu dürfen. Die Ausstellung zeigt neue Skulpturen, Collagen sowie zwei neue Werkgruppen auf Leinwand.
In seiner kommenden Ausstellung zeigt Succo erstmals seine großformatigen „Dye-Paintings". Die Motive, in diesem Fall vom Künstler erstellte Muster/Patterns, wurden mit einem speziellen Verfahren auf Leinwand gedruckt und dann handgefärbt. Das Färbeverfahren ist eine Assoziation zu Succos Arbeit mit analoger Fotografie. Hier ersetzen die Leinwand das Fotopapier und der Farbstoff den Entwickler. Obwohl die Arbeit jeweils mit dem gleichen Grundmotiv beginnt, ergeben sich durch die „Entwicklung" beeindruckende Unikate. Diese Arbeitsweise ist eine Wechselbeziehung zwischen Künstler, der Chemikalie und dem Material.
Succos „Pattern-Paintings" knüpfen an diese Verwendung eines scheinbar maschinell erstellten Musters als Ausgangspunkt an. Diese im Siebdruckverfahren bedruckten, rohen Leinwände wurden mehrere Male überarbeitet um teils subtile, teils offensichtliche Unterschiede in jeder einzelnen Arbeit zu erreichen.Succos neue Skulpturen spielen mit dem Gegensatz zwischen unmittelbarer Direktheit und bleibender Substanz. Sie sind expressive Kreationen - trotzdem sorgfältig ausgearbeitet und detailliert.


*Double egg, chips and beans*

We may be the most restless people ever. We move around a lot. We see things remotely, we see things at speed , we find it hard to dwell on things. Our eyes are invited to rest on very few things, but that reciprocity of looking ,and being mirrored, remains a speciality of humans. From childhood curiosity all the way to the accomplishments of those who have enjoyed a life time of seeing. Mountainous cathedrals and tumescent megaliths ask us ‘who put that there?’. We can detect the sense of purpose ,and we delight in the sense of authorship ,anonymised by time. These people were journeymen , moving from site to site. Its exactly the same way that highways ,bridges and power stations get made.Its what artists did. Its what they all do now. Its what Chris Succo is doing. RICHARD WENTWORTH - London, May 2011


*For Chris Succo*

The first time is a re-enactment. Face pushed to the glass and shown what you’re missing. By the one who took it. The Roman Empire was a Ponzi scheme. He wrote, “Her eyes are as innocent as a map.” Innocence requires that there be no intent. When you identify opposites, you become aware of consequences. An old tiger and a peach. Sickness and youth. Repetition and wonder. These will be part of the voice on the wall. And I’ve forgotten the word for what sculpture rests on, but keeping with example, as accurate as the messenger’s death, it will be soft like pistol. PAUL WASSERMAN - Writer, New York
Chris Succo wurde 1979 in Düsseldorf geboren. Er war Meisterschüler bei Georg Herold an der Kunstakademie Düsseldorf und studierte 2009/10 am Goldsmith College in London. Seinen MA im Sculpture Department absolviert er momentan am Royal College of London. Arbeiten des Künstlers werden international ausgestellt. Zu seinen jüngsten Ausstellungen gehören "FIN" im Kunstverein Düsseldorf, "Addition and Subtraktion", 304 Days, Kanada, *Panorama* im Kunstverein Schichtwechsel, Liechtenstein, Along The Rhine im KIT (Kunst Im Tunnel), Düsseldorf; NRW im Museum Kunst-Palast, Düsseldorf und *Unter Drei* im Märkischen Museum, Witten. Succo erhielt darüber hinaus das EHF-Stipendium der Konrad Adenauer Stiftung 2010 sowie das dHCS Atelierstipendium des Kunstvereins Düsseldorf 2009.