Julian Gothe Biography
Julian Gothe was born in Berlin in 1966. One of the German artist's most elaborate works to date is represented by a portal reminiscent of a time machine, albeit in slapstick mode: an oval ring covered with a violet neon tube rests on a base inspired by an antique telephone, while seven office lamps protrude from it like tentacles (Exit, 2008). This creation, which would seem to be the absurd invention of a mad professor from the 1920s, is presented in the drawing of a panoramic comic palette - with sharp lines and no colors - full of characters in evening dress and suits who seem to be extras directly from a film by Federico Fellini or Luchino Visconti. Most of them sit idly, while two men in tuxedos and top hats try to usher a third man, similarly dressed, through the oval (Resurrection, 2008). It is clear that Göthe is not simply nostalgic for a bygone era: regardless of the period he describes, he seems to question how certain cultural techniques - parody, intrigue, insinuation - transform over time and are reflected in the forms they take. Göthe presented this work in a recent exhibition at the Kunstverein in Cologne focused on Les Disques du Crépuscule, in response to a singular coincidence: two other exhibited artists - Claus Richter and Christian Flamm - suggested independently of each other to create a replica of a coffee table, including all utensils. Whether it's a puzzle or not, you don't need to be an expert to understand that the drawing represents a startling parody of the art world's obsession with referentiality. However, Gothe's burlesque is not contemptuous, but reveals an author intensely involved in a game of allusions, which the drawing itself grasps fully (like a woman wearing a brooch decorated with the logo of Les Disques du Crépuscule). Taking this into account, it is not surprising that the majority of Göthe's Berlin living room is taken up by stacks of records. They reveal something about the artist's curiosity about the avant-garde experiments emerging in mainstream culture, as well as the strange mix of comedy and seriousness that comes from them. A good example is the album "Barbra Streisand... and other musical instruments" (1973), in which Streisand courageously sings along with the sounds of Ghanaian instruments and kitchen appliances, following the inspiration of the spirit of John Cage (who performed his 1958 "Water Walk" on the prime-time television show "I've Got a Secret" in 1960).
