23 December 2020

‘[EN/DE] The Long Stretch’ by Alona Rodeh at Christine König Galerie

Alona Rodeh, 'The Long Stretch' (Installation), 2020, MDF, metal, polycarbonate, dibond, anti-slip tape, bollard, cigarettes, tire, LED lights, unique work + 1 AP, format variable, Courtesy Christine König Galerie, Vienna and the artist
‘[EN/DE] The Long Stretch’ by Alona Rodeh at Christine König Galerie
Alona Rodeh, 'The Long Stretch' (Installation), 2020, MDF, metal, polycarbonate, dibond, anti-slip tape, bollard, cigarettes, tire, LED lights, unique work + 1 AP, format variable, Courtesy Christine König Galerie, Vienna and the artist

[EN]

text: Andrea Kopranovic

Alona Rodeh’s first solo exhibition at Christine König Galerie, Vienna is an attempt to raise awareness through uncovering narratives of pseudo-secure regulations such as order, gate control, search tactics, traffic monitoring, suspension and exclusivity – be they public or private, concrete or abstract in form. Flickering in the dark, autonomous from any external light source, her works equivalently merge into an installation- and light-based Gesamtkunstwerk while keeping their idiosyncratic status.

Alona Rodeh’s interests in architecture, infrastructure, urbanism, light, design and industrial processes become evident in her careful choice of materials and their accompanying color palette: lightboxes with animal caretakers as protagonists, sound pieces passing coded communication, quasi ready-made objects, security gates and the history of bollard morphology are among other signs and works within a staged parkour.

Often referred to as performances without performers the artist’s installations give attention not only to the inhabiting objects, but to the space in-between. “Full of emptiness”, as the artist puts it, “The Long Stretch” may be read as a forecast – not of the future, but of the present tense. In it, Alona Rodeh functions as a manipulator, guiding our bodies through a space that is narrated through our movement in it. It is a broken, individual, heterogeneous narrative, one that raises questions of how and within what conditions to live and work. Its openness is linked to our – in many ways scattered and free but also restricted and bound – century.

Alona Rodeh, details 'The Long Stretch' (Installation), 2020, MDF, metal, polycarbonate, dibond, anti-slip tape, bollard, cigarettes, tire, LED lights, unique work + 1 AP, format variable, courtesy Christine König Galerie, Vienna and the artist
Alona Rodeh, details 'The Long Stretch' (Installation), 2020, MDF, metal, polycarbonate, dibond, anti-slip tape, bollard, cigarettes, tire, LED lights, unique work + 1 AP, format variable, courtesy Christine König Galerie, Vienna and the artist
Alona Rodeh, 'The Lonely Gatekeeper', 2020, inkjet print, aluminium, MDF, LED lights, ed. 3 + 1 AP, 21 x 32 x 8 cm, courtesy Christine König Galerie, Vienna and the artist
Alona Rodeh, 'The Long Stretch' (Installation), 2020, MDF, metal, polycarbonate, dibond, anti-slip tape, bollard, cigarettes, tire, LED lights, unique work + 1 AP, format variable, Courtesy Christine König Galerie, Vienna and the artist
Alona Rodeh, The Long Stretch, exhibition view at Christine König Galerie, Vienna 2020
Alona Rodeh, 'British Beams (M)', 2020, MDF, sanding paper, plexiglass, LED lights, unique work + 1 AP, 70 x 50 x 3 cm, courtesy Christine König Galerie, Vienna and the artist
Alona Rodeh, 'The Morphology of Bollards', 2019 - 2020, archival inkjet prints on metallic paper, raw metal frame, ed. 3 + 1 AP, 4 parts, each 60 x 43 cm, courtesy Christine König Galerie, Vienna and the artist
Alona Rodeh, from the series 'The Morphology of Bollards', 2019 - 2020, archival inkjet print on metallic paper, raw metal frame, ed. 3 + 1 AP, 60 x 43 cm, courtesy Christine König Galerie, Vienna and the artist
Alona Rodeh, 'The Chase (in Morse)', 2016 - 2020, inkjet prints mounted on plexiglass, polycarbonate raster, control system and piezo speaker, LED lights, ed. 3 + 1 AP, each 70 x 50 x 3 cm, courtesy Christine König Galerie, Vienna and the artist
Alona Rodeh, 'The Long Stretch', exhibition view at Christine König Galerie, Vienna 2020
Alona Rodeh, 'High Vis (Future Black)', 2020, MDF, plexiglass, wired glass, painted metal, unique work + 1 AP, 47 x 57 x 7 cm, courtesy Christine König Galerie, Vienna and the artist
Alona Rodeh, 'The Long Stretch', exhibition view at Christine König Galerie, Vienna 2020
Alona Rodeh, 'Family Affair' (from the series FIRE Essay Covers (Revisited))', 2020, archival inkjet print on metallic paper, raw metal frame, ed. 3 + AP, 60 x 43 cm, courtesy Christine König Galerie, Vienna and the artist
Alona Rodeh, 'Theater (from the series FIRE Essay Covers (Revisited))', 2020, archival inkjet print on metallic paper, raw metal frame, ed. 3 + AP, 60 x 43 cm, courtesy Christine König Galerie, Vienna and the artist
Alona Rodeh, 'The Long Stretch', exhibition view at Christine König Galerie, Vienna 2020
Alona Rodeh, 'Do Not Cast Us Off In Time Of Old Age', 2013 - 2020, plexiglass, MDF, LED lights, ed. 3 + 1 AP, 95 x 70 x 4 cm, courtesy Christine König Galerie, Vienna and the artist
Alona Rodeh, 'High Vis (Future Black)', 2020, MDF, plexiglass, wired glass, painted metal, unique work + 1 AP, 47 x 57 x 7 cm, courtesy Christine König Galerie, Vienna and the artist

[DE]

text: Andrea Kopranovic

Die erste Einzelausstellung von Alona Rodeh in der Christine König Galerie in Wien ist ein künstlerischer Versuch, uns umgebende, pseudosichere Regulierungen aufzudecken: Anordnungen, Kontrollschranken, Suchtaktiken, Verkehrsüberwachung, Sperren und Exklusivität – ob öffentlich oder privat, konkret oder abstrakt. Ihre Arbeiten, unabhängig von externen Lichtquellen, flackern und leuchten aus dem Dunkel und verschmelzen in den Galerieräumen zu einem installations- und lichtbasierten Gesamtkunstwerk.

Alona Rodehs Interesse an Architektur, Infrastruktur, Urbanismus, Licht, Design und industriellen Prozessen, zeigt sich in sorgfältiger Materialauswahl und abgestimmter Farbpalette: Leuchtkästen, Klangstücke, die codierte Kommunikation übermitteln, scheinbare Ready-Mades, Sicherheitsschranken und die Geschichte der Poller-Morphologie sind, neben anderen Zeichen und Werken, Teil ihres inszenierten Parcours in der Ausstellung.

In den Installationen der Künstlerin, die oft als Performances ohne Darsteller bezeichnet werden, stehen nicht nur die jeweiligen Objekte im Vordergrund sondern vor allem auch der Zwischenraum. Als Raum “voller Leere”, wie es die Künstlerin ausdrückt, ist “The Long Stretch” eine Art Prognose – nicht von der Zukunft, sondern von der Gegenwart. Alona Rodeh ist Manipulatorin und führt uns durch einen Raum, der durch unsere Bewegung im Raum zum erfahrbaren Narrativ wird. Es ist eine gebrochene, individuelle, heterogene Erzählung, die Fragen aufwirft, wie und unter welchen Bedingungen man leben und arbeiten kann. Ihre Offenheit ist verbunden mit unserem – in vielerlei Hinsicht zerstreuten und freien, aber auch eingeschränkten und gebundenen – Jahrhundert.

Imprint

ArtistAlona Rodeh
ExhibitionThe Long Stretch
Place / venueChristine König Galerie, Vienna, Austria
Dates9 October 2020 – 23 December 2020
PhotosPhilipp Friedrich
Websitechristinekoeniggalerie.com
Index

See also