Sommer & Kohl
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 layout of the booth. 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, Elsner deals with portraits and figures in interiors. Instead of employing a “classical” line drawing, defining the volume of the space with single lines, he circumscribes the space of the image by arranging hundreds of straight lines.
The volume and the plasticity of Henriksen’s sculptures in the booth are defined by the line drawing. The colored sculptures are based on birdcages, in which their volume is determined by their inherent line drawing. A further sculpture in black-and-white depicts a drawing in space, unfolding new configurations through the movement of the beholder.
The entire booth is defined by a so-called Eyeliner from Henriksen, which delineates the space and the ideas outlined in the collaboration: namely the general debate about an essential feature in the production of art, the line. Henriksen and Elsner unfold a thoughtful installation, inviting the beholder to a journey through the entanglement of lines.