Artists Index: Lothar Hempel

Lothar Hempel (Born 1966, Cologne. Lives and works in Berlin.) Working with a wide range of media, the German artist Lothar Hempel stages complex tableaux that he describes as 'situations that have a dreamlike quality'. Paying little heed to logic or common sense, Hempel's scenarios have no obvious beginning or end. His assemblages make many references – to theatre, dance, art history, and politics - and their dramatic presentation is the element that binds them all together. His work is skilfully and luxuriously orchestrated, but its means of construction and illusory beauty are always in evidence. The underlying mood is one of doubt, in which the protagonists in Hempel's mise-en-scène seem to be obsessively and hopelessly chasing visions of intense ecstasy. Lothar Hempel was born in Cologne in 1966 and lives and works in Berlin. Exhibitions include Propaganda, Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), London, The Triumph of Painting - Part 4, The Saatchi Gallery, London, Alphabet City, Magasin – Centre National d’Art Contemporain, Grenoble, France, and Casanova at Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin and . He has also participated in 7th Gwangju Biennale, Korea, Lustwarande 08 - Wanderland, Tilburg, Holland and at the Tate Gallerty, Liverpool. He is currently showing in the Beaufort 03, Triennial for Contemporary Art, Blankenberge and has been invited to participate in the forthcoming 2009 Athens Biennale. He is represented by Stuart Shave/Modern Art, London and Anton Kern Gallery, New York.