Sophie Gogl
Kunsthaus Glarus, Switzerland
26 February - 25 June 2023
It is the classic beginning of a story. On a daily commute, the protagonist strikes up a conversation with the person sitting next to them and makes a connection that sets the narrative in motion. The magic of the unexpected encounter that often unfolds in a place that is not considered to be special, like a train, an airport, or a parking lot, holds a certain fascination for people. One wonders why that is. Is it because the magic happens to us unexpectedly, we did not seek it out. Is it human desire for our lives to be adventurous while remaining passive? Or is it in fact the hope that life can deliver adventure at any time, in any place, if one can remain open to the possibility?
Sophie Gogl has made the concept of the 'non-place', first defined by the French anthropologist Marc Augé, the focal point of her artistic work. By creating sculptural installations that mimic non-places, Gogl draws attention to the overlooked and disregarded, leaving the viewer to consider what else in their daily life might seldom be taken note of. Gogl develops this idea through paintings and objects to create a staging that takes on a dramatic energy.
For her solo exhibition at Kunsthaus Glarus, Gogl created a new work co-produced by Phileas. Since the mid-1990s, the Kunsthaus has provided a platform for the presentation of Swiss and international contemporary art and made a name for itself by focussing on the creative output of a younger generation of artists who have not yet shown their work in a Swiss institution.
Sophie Gogl (born 1992 in Kitzbühel, Austria) is a painter and sculptor who sources much of her imagery within the public sphere, often referring to films, advertising, and memes. She is less preoccupied with the motifs themselves than with the mechanisms of their appearance and disappearance in the stream of visual information that confronts us each day. Gogl’s work has been exhibited at institutions including MAK, Vienna; STRABAG Kunstforum, Vienna; and Kunsthalle Friart, Freibourg, among others. This is her first collaboration with Phileas.
