Misha Hollenbach Forewards Exhibition

One half of the duo behind fashion label Perks and Mini, Misha Hollenbach will assume a different role as he opens his new show Forewards later this month at Utopian Slumps on Thursday, April 13th. The show’s multi-medium showcase finds its inspiration through a variety of “happy accidents”, much like the discovery of LSD.

Forewards by Misha Hollenbach
Utopian Slumps
Ground Floor, 33 Guildford Lane Melbourne
May 14 to June 5, 2010

Utopian Slumps is pleased to announce the opening of Forewards by represented artist Misha Hollenbach on Thursday 13 May 2010.

Hollenbach’s practice explores methods of merging contemporary culture with tribalism. Working across the mediums of collage, screenprinting, sculpture and installation, his work is often driven by carnal desire and a return to the basis of human existence: evidenced by his yoga/sex collages, or his explorations of abject bodily functions. Gesturing towards the legacy of Dadaism, Hollenbach is compelled to collect images and found objects, reconfiguring them as art objects to create new meanings through random association.

Forewards will present a new series of work from Hollenbach merging various cultures and influences. Subverting traditional forms of portraiture, his photographic prints are, like Hoffman’s discovery of LSD, formed from happy accidents, and accompanied by a series of single edition photocollages that invert and collapse human faces with readymade objects and contrasting textures. Additionally, Hollenbach’s ceramic and neon sculptures constructed through a process of automation reflect his interest in making the everyday object irreverent by imbuing it with new associational values.

As one half of the clothing label and publishing inc. PAM, and the driving force behind art/music super group THE CHANGES, Hollenbach has exhibited nationally and internationally, touring Italy during Milan Design Week at such venues as Mu Gallery, as well as Eindhoven, The Netherlands; V1 Gallery, Copenhagen; and Alleged Gallery and Deitch Projects, New York. After exhibiting collaboratively for a number of years, Hollenbach has recently embarked on a solo career. In 2009, this included two solo exhibitions, Indispensable Duties at Y3K Gallery, Melbourne, and STOOL at Black & Blue, Sydney; and also two collaborative exhibitions with Peter Sutherland: SNAP!, at Gallery Target and REAGGEAE, at Utrecht Gallery, Japan.

Forewards by Misha Hollenbach will take place at Utopian Slumps, Ground Floor, 33 Guildford Lane Melbourne, from 14 May to 5 June 2010.