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Ulrike Schulze

Ulrike Schulze, Two Girls, 2018
painted ceramic and concrete, 2 inseparable elements, 100x26x90 cm, 20x22x71 cm
courtesy Van HORN Gallery, Düsseldorf
photo credits: GC / Palinsesti 2018

The group of works displayed here presents Ulrike Schulze’s sculptural research, characterized by the assembly of raw materials such as concrete, unpolished clay, building stones and plywood boards. The sculptures present oversimplified forms and can thus be linked to the minimalist tradition, but the pastel tones on their surfaces make them vibrant, less austere, more poetic and emotional. The artist carefully studies their position in space, as if she were taking a family portrait photograph, in order to investigate architecture and space between things. These apparently unstable and delicate works are hybrids halfway between architecture, waste, and installation that, in silence, emerge from the place where they are located. Therefore, they not only naturally open to a dialogue with the environment that surrounds them, but they also invite the viewers to take time to observe them closer and grasp their mutual relationships.
Ulrike Schulze (b. Dormagen, 1985) lives and works in Cologne. She studied at the Düsseldorf Academy of Art with Thomas Grünfeld and Rebecca Warren. In 2016, she won the first Ehrenhof Prize for young graduates of the Academy.

Two Girls

The work I propose for the In Sesto Prize consists of two ceramics placed on concrete plinths accompanied by a discreet and quiet sound piece. The ceramics are hand-painted and follow my original artistic research, which explores the psychological embodiment within sculptures, which remind one of architectures or ruins.
The gardens of San Vito al Tagliamento behind the church compelled me to tell a story of young people. The youth in any town, boisterous and noisy as they might be at times, also tend to occupy those spaces which are in between, in backyards, parks, lawns or parking lots which are unused from the evening hours on. This work follows them into the gardens. One ceramic is placed on a plinth which is toppled over to use it as a bench; the other huddles next to a low wall, just like girls who hide in the gardens, surrounded by flowers, matching the colour of their skin and hair. The sound gives the sculptures the impression of communication, but also refers to the rustling taking place in gardens and parks. By adding this sound piece to the installation, the whispering of the Two Girls will be audible, though still abstract, just as their appearance.