Lucerne-based artist Davix, one of Switzerland’s first video and net artists, returned to painting as his preferred medium several years ago. For the artist, painting is a continuation of the screen, in a slower, more concentrated way of working that is committed to the material. In his current exhibition at the message salon, Davix is showing new paintings and lithographs and is also returning to video art via painting. In the new video “1545 – qinze quarante-cinq” (24 min.), a fixed camera films the artist in long-term observation during his stay at the Citè International des Arts in Paris, in studio No. 1545. In the painting studio, canvases are prepared, painted, viewed, taken down, and new canvases installed, spread out on the floor, chairs and tables rearranged, paint mixed and stirred, with smoking or phone calls in between. The video is edited in time-lapse and with cross-fades, and art is created before the viewer’s eyes. The wall in the studio is static, the artist in front of it in constant activity and movement, in the service of art. The video conveys an experience of time, in different time levels and simultaneity.
Special!
To mark the end of the solo exhibition “Auto Reverse” at Perla-Mode, message salon presents a video evening featuring a selection of Davix’s video works created between 1994 and 2000. Some of these videos have since achieved cult status as pioneering works of Swiss video art. Sophisticated, initially analog, later digital editing cascades and early computer-animated images characterize these art videos, which continue to impress today with their precision, rhythm, and technical playfulness. A must-see for anyone who enjoys well-made, entertaining, and funny video clips.
Program, videos by Davix, 1994-2000
“Hula Hop,” 2:30 min, 1994
“Mutant ® 13,” 5:00 min, 1994 (Viper Promotion Prize 1994, CH)
“- 30 °,” 5:00 min, 1995
“T 2000,” video installation, loops, (documentation 3:00), 2000
“Everything has an end—except this sausage,” loop, remake 2000
The videos will be shown as a block (duration approx. 20 min): Screenings at 8pm. and 10 pm in the Perla-Mode basement.