Curated by: Sabine Schaschl

In his multi-layered oeuvre, Olaf Holzapfel deals with the conception and materiality of spaces. After the 2000s, during which he particularly focused on megalopolises and their relationship with virtual space, observing a kinship between urban structures’ grids and the internet’s digital grids, his interest increasingly shifted toward the physically material site. Since then, Holzapfel has been searching for ways to artistically dissolve dualities, such as those of city and landscape, interior and exterior, or virtual and real visual spaces, and to describe them as something fluid. The result is a constant exchange between these forces. His work revolves around intercultural exchange with artists and artisans, as well as recourse to vernacular techniques. For example, Holzapfel has been working for more than ten years with weavers from the Wichí community in Argentina’s Gran Chaco and with carpenters from Lower Saxony, who implement his designs using natural and locally typical materials, such as wood, straw or natural fibers.

The projects produced in this way are process-oriented and collectively developed during an ongoing exchange of knowledge between all participants. “Engaging with other cultures,” states Holzapfel, “leads to exhibitions with a variety of media (installation, sculpture, material pictures, film). […] For me, an openness toward related media is a prerequisite for understanding art. Visual discourse is always simultaneously a discourse on media theory, and is negotiated on the basis of experiential knowledge gained from practicing manual work. I find it important to raise awareness of the connections between various space-creating techniques and where they come from.”