Lullin + Ferrari
Art Cologne 2016

For the collaborative booth of Lullin + Ferrari and Sommer & Kohl the two artists Slawomir Elsner (1978 in Wodzisław Slaski, Poland) and Knut Henrik Henriksen (1970 Oslo, Norway), both living in Berlin, have conceived together an all-embracing installation.

The various manifestations of line drawing are the starting point for the individual works of both artists and for the overall concept of the booth. For Knut Henrik Henriksen, mainly active as a sculptor, as well as for Slawomir Elsner, mostly working as a draftsman, the line is, independently of the medium used, an important criterion to invent a work of art. In art theory, the concept of the line is an important feature, associated with thoughts and logic, contrary to color, which is linked with emotions.

In his recent drawings, Slawomir Elsner deals with portraits and figures in interiors. Instead of employing a “classical” line drawing, defining the volume of the space with single lines, Slawomir Elsner circumscribes the space of the image by arranging hundreds of straight lines. His works hold a contradictory feature, which could be described as a sharpened blur.

The volume and the plasticity of Knut Henrik Henriksen’s sculptures in the booth are defined by the line drawing. The colored sculptures are based on birdcages visible on a photograph of the pre-eminent French artist, Henri Matisse, a master of the line. The cage determinates its volume through its immanent line drawing. A further sculpture in black-and-white delineates a drawing in space, unfolding new configurations through the movement of the beholder.

The entire booth is defined by a so-called Eyeliner from Knut Henrik Henriksen. This line drawing accentuates certain areas of the wall and delineates the space. Accordingly to the temporal nature of the booth, Knut Henrik Henriksen uses ephemeral pastels for the drawing. The contour of Eyeliner accentuates ideas outlined in the collaboration: namely the different manifestations of lines in space and on paper; its reception through the public; the personal touch of each artist and the general debate about an essential feature in the production of art, the line. Knut Henrik Henriksen and Slawomir Elsner unfold a thoughtful installation, inviting the beholder to a journey through the entanglement of lines.