AMTSALON 2023
WITH JOHANNA DUMET
AMTSALON, BERLIN, GERMANY
1 – 3 DECEMBER 2023
OPENING HOURS 11 AM – 7 PM
KÖNIG GALERIE is pleased to announce Johanna Dumet’s presentation CHARMED on the occasion of Amtsalon 2023. This new series, created by the artist for the occasion of Amtsalon 2023, consists of 4 drawings and 5 paintings, one of them a quadriptych.
Throughout the works, Dumet weaves the lore of a protagonist’s glamorous life in the upper-class neighborhood of West-Berlin, where the historical building of Amtsalon is also located. The artist alludes to the decadent scene of the early 20th century in the German metropolis, known, aptly, as ‘The Age of Excess’, due to its cabaret culture and lascivious parties - however, this was also an era during which the mystical arts (incl. astrology, fortune-telling, occultism, spiritual sessions and esoteric religions) experienced a revival that brought them to the mainstream and popularized them to the masses, eventually becoming a part of the popular realm.
© Portrait by Tobias Schult
Drinking Porto wine, channeling spirits, visiting mediums and fortunetellers, reading tarot cards, and having eccentric house pets in a beautiful domestic environment, all while donning stylish clothing and accessories, are some of the mise-en-scene snapshots of the mysterious protagonist’s glamours life in her Charlottenburg apartment that we can glimpse, punctuated by an overabundance of reds and other warm hues that create an inviting, almost celebratory atmosphere to the series. Red, in its various shades (incl. carmine, vermillion, azo) is not just the color of celebration, warmth, and vivacity – it simultaneously symbolizes opulence, grandeur, and lust. To highlight the decadence of wasting away luxury commodities and expensive resources, the works on paper are created using materials meant to be savored and sparingly used for special occasions; expensive red wines and Chanel lipsticks. This combination of elements emulate and are reminiscent of what the artist calls the ‘old Charlottenburg vibe’.
Johanna Dumet paints primarily with oil on canvas, while also experimenting with various different techniques, like gouache-painted paper glued to linen. She is known for painting impulsively, with a strong sense of flow, and without constraint. The result is a sublime, captivating use of color and at the same time an abstract form that continually interplays with figuration. Rather than focusing purely on detail, Dumet creates minimalist representations of what she sees, using a vividly bold color palette to depict her ideal of a hedonistic lifestyle; spending time with loved ones, celebrating, consuming and over-indulging are some of the overarching themes ever-present in her oeuvre.