›Binary Contrast‹ 07/12/2022—04/02/2023

• Jirka Pfahl

Frankfurt 07/12/2022—04/02/2023

With the solo exhibition ›Binary Contrast‹, the Lachenmann Art gallery in Frankfurt is once again presenting the unique works of Jirka Pfahl. Pfahl, born in Wurzen in 1976, has proven himself to be a brilliant and astute artist. He has been represented by the gallery since Lachenmann Art was founded and is undisputedly considered part of the innovative spirit of the contemporary art scene. Jirka Pfahl's works are rigorous, conceptual, but always playful and always refer to traditional art, which he intensively combines with the present in his works.

The title of the exhibition is the result of the artist's love of wordplay. While binary systems are always defined by two opponents, which, judging by the word's origin, appear in pairs or doubles, binary code is used particularly in mathematics and computer language. Despite the simplicity of binary systems, they can be used to convey highly complex facts that are based on dichotomous relationships.

The combination and dualism of these two focal points, classical or analogue art on the one hand and digital, computer-based technology on the other, defines the overall work of the artist Jirka Pfahl.

In his latest presentation at the Lachenmann Art gallery in Frankfurt, the artist questions the status of contemporary art. In his usual humorous manner, Jirka Pfahl combines seemingly banal everyday objects with obviously complex works in the exhibition space and asks himself where art can be found. Can art be separated from everyday life, like from furnishings? How far apart are banal space and complex art?
Jirka Pfahl explores the definitions of what we know and constantly provokes new ways of looking at individual works, which can also turn out to be contradictory. Something that may seem banal and meaningless at first glance takes on completely new meanings when examined more closely or from a new perspective. The works also question their own status.

In addition, the artist creates three-dimensional paper folds that are imbued with a mathematical beauty. In these works of art, the constant use of line is combined with the appearance of light and shadow. They attract the viewer's gaze and thereby create a moment of standstill in time. Geometric shapes suggest infinite variations of a leitmotif that is created by the artist's hand and subjected to an order. What at first glance appears to be chaotic arrangements reveals its structure the moment the relationships between the individual elements of the overall object become clear to the viewer.

The artist acts as a creator, sets the rules of order and relationship of those elements and determines the sequence and positions from which an autonomous overall picture ultimately emerges.

The paper works go hand in hand with his wall objects and installation works: Jirka Pfahl repeatedly plays with the differences between digital and analogue, between original and copy, he plays with words and their meaning and thereby shows us unseen connections. Jirka Pfahl's works are repeatedly described as conceptual, but unfold beyond this attribution: he makes both materials and concepts his own and re-actualizes them in a surprising, novel manner. The often everyday origin of the objects used is translated by the artist into a new language and finds its use in his artistic context. Jirka Pfahl translates the analogue concepts of his works into the digital space and thus creates completely new approaches in the form of NFTs that fit into a contemporary visual language.

Installation views: Credits Daniel Beyer