DNA GmbH Auguststraße 20, 10117 Berlin, Germany Tel. + 49 (0)30 28 59 96 52 Fax + 49 (0)30 28 59 96 54 www.dna-galerie.de MIKE STEINER 17. 09. – 26. 10. 2013 Public Opening: 17 September 2013, Tuesday, 7 pm - 9 p.m. DNA shows Mike Steiner, an artist, a filmmaker, a painter, a documenter, a collector and a pioneer of video art. This exhibition at DNA is re– introducing the art of Mike Steiner, who brought video art from New York into the Berlin´s experimental scene in the 70’s. The great contribution of Steiner, who died in 2012, can be recognized by his ground-breaking way of crossing borders between media, such as video, performance as well as sculpture and painting. The exhibition is composed not only of his work, documenting the art of performance practice but also, his significant work as a video artist and painter. Live to Tape, The collection of Mike Steiner in Hamburger Bahnhof About the artist Born in 1941 in Allenstein (East Prussia), Mike Steiner was one of the first artists to discovering the new medium of experimental video art. When filming, he focused either on documenting certain events or performances made by other artists. His technique was unique as he managed to capture moments in a specific way through the framing and composition within his shots. Hotel Steiner (1970), which the art critic Heinz Ohff compared with Chelsea Hotel in New York, was used as a melting pot where both local and international artists could come together, a space for artistic creation that never existed before in Berlin. In his Studiogalerie (1974), Steiner showed for the first Mike Steiner, (2005), Studio Berlin time in Berlin great artists, such as Allan Kaprow, Joseph Beuys, Gary Hill, Bill Viola, Valie Export, Nan Hoover, Laurie Anderson and many more. Mike Steiner was introduced to video as a means of artistic expression in New York. He approached the new medium from different angles in order to discover its full potential. Steiner hosted a video gallery, where not only he exhibited his own artworks but, also, he curated exhibitions of other avant-garde artists. In this gallery, the making of his famous Tape Collection took place, a work so profound that was not similar to anything else at that time. Creating ‘pointless’ videos were amongst Steiner’s favourites, as they would capture moments in life that the viewer would deem as arbitrary. In Rest Energy (1980) you can see how Marina Abramović and Ulay (F. Uwe Laysiepen) are holding a bow and arrow from either side, whereby the slightest movement could be lethal as the arrowhead points towards Abramović’s heart. The only sound you can hear is the sound of their heartbeats, which has been recorded through a small microphone positioned on their clothes. Steiner collected and made videos like this throughout his career. He loved paying attention to small details found in certain objects, or the sound made by the people he recorded. By Rest Energy (1980) Performance with Marina Abramovic and Ulay having no filter to what was being filmed and by documenting everything, Steiner created a new form of aesthetics. Mike Steiner played a critical role in the way of perceiving the art of documentation. Without him, timeless great works of performance art would not have survived through time, such as Rest Energy (1980) with Marina Abramović and Ulay, Irritation: There is a Criminal Touch to Art (1976) with Ulay and Delta. Ein Stück (1976) with Valie Export. Steiner’s contribution in art can be easily recognized by the way he managed to bring together the art of performance with the art of Irritation: There is a Criminal Touch to Art (1976) Performance filmmaking. His collection of videos made by him with Ulay and other artists have inspired countless of people throughout the years. His videos do not only show the evolution of art over the years, but it gives us an inside view of the cultural history of Berlin.Towards the end of his career Mike Steiner stopped making videos and started to paint again. As the artist himself has stated in an interview with John Brendan in 2011: “As a video artist, I was avant-garde. As a painter, I am a traditionalist”. DNA proudly presents these revolutionary Delta. Ein Stück (1976) Performance with Valie Export artworks of Mike Steiner. The work still manages to move the viewer and capture their imagination, not only by the daring manipulation of video and the art of documentation as a work of art itself but, also by the innovative turn of the artist from video to painting. Exhibition Composition In this exhibition, DNA re - introduces the artist Mike Steiner by keeping the focus on his work as an experimental documenter of performance art from great artists, such as Valie Export, Joan Jonas, Marina Abramović and Ulay. Steiner has been recognized by the unique bridge he built between video and painting, as for example, by filming paintings as the main subject of his videos. Steiner, who invented the Berlin video scene in the 1970’s and brought together numerous national and international artists to Berlin, is presented at DNA with interviews, documentation and talks from people in the Art Scene, who worked closely with him. During these parallel events, DNA guests are presenting Steiner’s work from their own perspective in order to create a more vivid image of his career. Steiner, who started from painting, became one of the most innovative and influencing artists to use video as a form of artistic creation and documentation, returned to painting at the end of his life. The Contemporary Art Museum Hamburger Bahnhof showed his work in a Retrospective in 1999 and presented Steiner’s video collection for one year in 2011. Now, this collection is fundamental to the Hamburger Bahnhof Collection. DNA presents the solo show of Mike Steiner including the masterpieces “Irritation: There is Criminal Touch to Art” (1976) with Ulay and “Delta. Ein Stück” (1976) with Valie Export. Contact Information DNA GmbH Auguststraße 20 D-10117 Berlin Tel. +49 (0)30 28 59 96 52 Fax. +49 (0)30 28 59 96 54 Johann Nowak CEO / Art Director E: [email protected] Foteini Vergidou Gallery Manager / Assistant Art Director Alexandra Sommer Intern / Assistant Art Director E: [email protected] Artist Biography MIKE STEINER 1941 born in Allenstein, East Prussia 1965 graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany 1965 moved to New York 1973 returns to Berlin and founds the legendary Video Gallery 1995 returns to painting 1999 solo show Color Works at Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany Exhibitions A selected list of Mike Steiner’s most important solo and group shows Solo Exhibitions 2012 Live to Tape - Die Sammlung Mike Steiner im Hamburger Bahnhof, Nationalgalerie / Berlin 2002 Einzelausstellung, J.J. Brookings Gallery / San Francisco 1999 COLOR WORKS, Hamburger Bahnhof, Nationalgalerie / Berlin 1990 Mike Steiner: polastrips, A & O / Berlin 1985 Ägypten Tapes - Vilm Tesafilm, Galerie Förtsch / Berlin 1966 Einzelausstellung, Fischbach Gallery / New York Einzelausstellung, Dwan Gallery / New York Group Exhibitions 1988 Mike Steiner: Der Fernsehfreie Montag. Ein Videostück, Premiere mit Ulrich Haß, El Locco Cinema / Berlin 1987 Stadtbilder - Berlin in der Kunst von 1750 bis zur Gegenwart, Berlin Museum / Berlin 1986 Ausstellung in der Grundkreditbank als Teil der "Kunstmeile 1986", Kürfürstendamm / Berlin Zwischen Himmel und Erde, Margaret Raspe, Ruhmweg 26 / Berlin 1945 - 1985 - Kunst in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Nationalgalerie / Berlin 1971 Junge Kunst, Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden / Baden 1970 Multimedia, Berlin Composers`Forum Event, Akademie der Künste / Berlin 1968 The Dwan Ten, Dwan Gallery / New York 1965 Books - Boxes – Things, Institute of Contemporary Art / Philadelphia Slide Show, Albright-Knox-Art Gallery – Buffalo / New York .