SCOPIN – Black Light October 29, 2022 to January 15, 2023 in the Bavarian National Museum, Munich

About

Albert Scopin, born in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1943, turned to a material that is present everywhere in our everyday life but is rather unusual in the field of art: asphalt. His intensive artistic examination of this material is unique. For a good 10 years he has been creating two- and three-dimensional works with a strong presence and expressiveness. Scopin's tools are furnaces, gas burners, brooms and other equipment with which he applies and spreads the viscous mass, heated to over 200 degrees, onto wooden panels, a process that requires many years of experience and the highest level of skill. The idea of ​​using asphalt as a color for his mostly large-format works is the result of a long process of reflection. Scopin lived in New York in the early 1970s, a formative time in his life. The bad streets of Manhattan, with their potholes and countless repairs in superimposed layers of different colors and textures, seemed to him like structures of ours at the time civilization and have burned themselves into his memory as an image. But it was almost 40 years later that he found the inspiration he needed when he saw a large-scale charcoal work by Korean artist Lee Bae. From that moment onwards, his occupation with the material asphalt and the will to bring the beauty and energy of this organic material closer to the viewer have determined his entire work as an artist. Scopin's works have a calm, almost meditative aura, yet are full of energy. The forms in which Scopin distributes the hot mass on the wooden base are often as archaic as the material. They are strong, powerful, monolithic, while others are reminiscent of Informel works or Asian calligraphy due to their occasionally energetic application. With practiced movements, Scopin lays layer upon layer, allowing himself to be guided by the viscous, molten mass, giving his works a relief-like form. Sometimes he adds wood, glass dust, sand or emulsion paint. A dialogue develops between the material and the artist. In contrast to its everyday use, Scopin's asphalt is allowed to find its pure, material presence. Since the material cools down and hardens quickly, there is little time left for the painting process. Depending on the type of application and the tools used, surfaces with different structures are created, which break and reflect the light in very different ways and thus offer the viewer a multitude of visual experiences. The color black is shown in its entire spectrum. Matt surfaces are next to silky shimmering or high-gloss areas. If you move in front of Scopin's works, they seem to be constantly changing, oscillating between deep black and dark anthracite through the most diverse shades of gray to white. In some works, strongly colored, especially ultramarine blue pigments provide contrasting levels. Scopin's work focuses on a material that is inextricably linked to our modern industrial society. Asphalt contains preserved plant and animal life and is therefore a repository of millions of years of geological history. It is the unity of past, present and future, curse and blessing at the same time. The hand of the artist turns it into an aesthetic experience. An exhibition by Edition Minerva curated by Manfred Möller A catalog accompanying the exhibition will be published by Edition Minerva, which specializes in high-quality art publications. About the artist: Albert Scopin, whose real name is Albert Schöpflin, was born in Freiburg in 1943. From 1967 to 1969 he studied at the State School for Photography in Munich and had previously worked as a photo assistant in various studios. In 1969 he moved to New York and assisted photographers Mikel Avedon and Bill King. During this time he met Andy Warhol and came into contact with his social environment. From 1969 to 1971, Scopin lived and worked at the legendary Chelsea Hotel. Here he shot the documentary "Chelsea Hotel" in 1970, which portrayed the residents of the hotel at the time, e.g. Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe.

In the early 1970s, Scopin founded his own film production company and shot documentaries in and about New York's cultural underground. In 1974 he moved back to Germany, set up a studio in Frankfurt am Main and increasingly devoted himself to photography. In the early 1980s he began to draw and paint, primarily in the gray tones of black and white photography. In 1985 they moved to Munich. From 1983 to 1988 Albert Scopin taught as a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences for Design in Darmstadt, but retired to his studio in Seeshaupt on Lake Starnberg in 1990 to work exclusively as an artist. He turned his back on photography entirely. Sometimes the drawing was in the foreground, sometimes painting was the focus of his interest. Since 2012, Scopin has worked almost exclusively with asphalt. The artist lives and works in Lörrach and Riehen near Basel. His works can be found in important museums such as the Museum Ludwig in Cologne. Large-scale exhibitions took place in 2016 in the Barlach Halle K in Hamburg and in the St. Elisabeth Church in Berlin. Most recently, his works were shown in 2022 as part of the 59th Biennale Arte in Venice. To the Bavarian National Museum The Bavarian National Museum is one of the major European museums dedicated to both fine arts and cultural history. Therefore, the house not only describes itself as the "treasure house on the Eisbachwelle", but also as the German V&A. The heart of the collection is the royal art collection of the Wittelsbach family. The Bavarian National Museum was founded in 1855 by King Maximilian II of Bavaria with the aim "to snatch the most interesting and patriotic monuments and other remains of bygone times from oblivion". Prince Regent Luitpold was opened.The new building, which is one of the most important and original museum buildings of its time, was designed by Gabriel von Seidl to provide a platform for the most diverse works of art and styles from several centuries.All of the formative European Style epochs represented. Since Dr. Frank Matthias Kammel took office as Director General of the Bavarian National Museum in the summer of 2018, the house has been in a visible renewal process. With the exhibition "Loyal friends. Dogs and people" they entered new territory in a the venerable house showed pieces from the collection that are valuable in terms of art and cultural history in combination with elements of pop culture. For a short time now, the Bavarian National Museum has also opened up to contemporary art.

Exhibition

Bavarian National Museum Prinzregentenstrasse 3 - 80538 Munich

www.bayerisches-nationalmuseum.de

Opening times: Tuesday to Sunday and public holidays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m Thursday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. (holidays 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.) Monday closed

Admission price: The exhibition is included in the regular admission price and is shown on the main floor in the Mars-Venus-Saal.

Edition Minerva

Bachgasse 36, 61169 Friedberg/Hessen

Telephone: +49 (0)6031 776888-0

Email: info@edition-minerva.de

Press contacts: Annette Zierer zier COMMUNICATIONS

Effnerstrasse 44-46; 81925 Munich

Telephone: +49 (0)89 35 61 24 88 / 83 Mobile: +49 (0)176 23404040

Email: annette.zierer@zierercom.com

www.zierercom.com

Dorothea Band MA Head of Public Relations Bavarian National Museum

Prinzregentenstrasse 3 80538 Munich Telephone: + 49 (0)89 - 211 24 - 270

Email: presse@bayerisches-nationalmuseum.de www.bayerisches-nationalmuseum.de

Press photos: Albert Scopin Bavarian National Museum Munich (picdrop.com)

Copyright Arno Dietscher

1. The artist Albert Scopin. Photo: Arno Dietsche

2. Albert Scopin, 551 Houston St, 2020, asphalt and pigment on wood, 41 x 41 cm. Photo: Arno Dietsche

3. Albert Scopin, Cosmic Darkness, 2014, asphalt on wood, 250 x 250 cm. Photo: Arno Dietsche

4. Albert Scopin, There Was a Great Rest, 2014, 250 x 250 cm. Photo: Arno Dietsche

5. Albert Scopin, Eclipse, 2016, asphalt on wood, 200 x 200 cm. Photo: Arno Dietsche

The photos may be published free of charge in connection with the “SCOPIN – Black Light” exhibition.