KÖNIG GALERIE X NUMÉRO
FACTORY RESET

SCHLACHTER 151, BERLIN, GERMANY
29 APRIL – 26 MAY 2023

On the occasion of Gallery Weekend Berlin 2023, KÖNIG GALERIE is pleased to announce a collaborative exhibition between the gallery and the contemporary art magazine, Numéro. FACTORY RESET and FACTORY RESET CONTINUED are two separate exhibitions divided between a solo presentation of new works by DENNIS OSADEBE and a group show curated by the artist. In FACTORY RESET, the artist explores a term used to describe the restoration of an electronic device in relation to the human experience. The works by OSADEBE explore the relationship between meditation and evolving technology within our approach to finding inner peace and include a series of tondo format MEDITATIONS, and MEDITATION (BREATHE), an animated sculptural centerpiece. This colorless figure breathes within the space around it, mimicking the most human of actions. Through advanced mechanics and purposefully incorporated sound, the work speaks to the importance of paying closer mind to the instruments we have innately within us, rather than relying on the tools we are offered by our built environment to find peace.The group exhibition features contemporary artists from Nigeria, where OSADEBE is based, together with artists from the König roster, in what is a truly unique presentation of contemporary artistic positions that puts Berlin in direct contact with both younger and established voices from Nigeria, and vice versa. Within the selection of works are sculptural pieces by JEPPE HEIN and ALICE ANDERSON, which sit alongside a diverse manner of wall-hanging works by DEBORAH SEGUN, JOSEPH FIDELIS, MICHAEL IGWE, and UGO AHIAKWO. The pieces included were all made within the last year, most in 2023, and speak to the incredible range of materials and working methods, from acrylic (SEGUN & IGWE) and oil on canvas (FIDELIS) to suiting linens (AHIAKWO). Seen together, these re-introduce viewers to modes of quiet and contemplative reflection, with an eye toward the impact of technology and the challenges it poses to a more spiritual awareness and connection to the
world.
JEPPE HEIN’s balloons bring the eye upward to the ceiling, while ANDERSON’s totemic structure is made from hardware and copper wire, the accoutrement of much in the world of electricity. These also return to the theme of prayer, sacrality, and the movement of the body between modes of introspection and physical engagement. AHIAKWO creates seascapes from bedsheets, freezing their folds in time, while IGWE’s muted abstract canvases offer space for the distracted eye, and FIDELIS’s vibrant oil colors speak to a freedom of gesture that evokes a body unconstrained by the habits of everyday life. In SEGUN’s paintings, the sharpness of acrylic carves out unique depictions of the human figure, simultaneously engaged and at rest.