Ella Goerner

9 December 2017 – 15 January 2018

The Composing Rooms is happy to present their first solo project with German artist Ella Goerner (born 1989, Pirna). Since 2014 we have worked on several collaborations engaging her practice as a platform for eco-activism, notably the co-curated evolving exhibition and online platform #WEC ‘Whole Earth Catalyst’. 

Over simplification of natural resources is a core concern in Goerner’s practice. One example of this simplification is with the culling of forests: the in-the-ground value of a tree is abstract, it has potentially millions of symbiotic value metrics as part of the ecosystem which aren’t fungible or recognised in the win/lose economic system – while out of the ground, each piece of wood can be reduced to a precise simplistic monetary value.

In this series of paintings Goerner explores the complexity of how natural minerals are integrated into domestic electronics and everyday life, inspired by her work with a start up who’s goal was to provide recycling solutions for home devices. The works, composed by UV print onto wood, present images of interior environments, overlain with abstract painterly gestures and floating mineral formations. The uncanny familiarity verges on lifestyle advertising, and confuses our understanding of environments and elements as separate, natural or artificial.

Ella Goerner, German, born 1989, lives in Berlin. Inspired by her birthplace Pirna, near the Saxon Switzerland National Park, Goerner’s practice is grounded by a love and respect for nature, while her research investigates sociological and technological developments. Her work therefore focuses on the ambiguous and complex place where nature, business interests, and virtual worlds intersect.

Solo exhibitions include: Tatjana Pieters, Ghent (2017); Halle 14, Leipzig (2016); C.Rockefeller, Dresden (2015) and Konstanet, Tallin (2014). Group exhibitions include: Thirsty Garten at The Composing Rooms, Berlin; Academy of Fine Arts, Dresden (2016); XPO, Paris; Nassauischer Kunstverein, Wiesbaden; #WEC (Whole Earth Catalyst) at The Composing Rooms, Berlin and online: wec.thecomposingrooms.com (2015) and Current 1–1 with The Composing Rooms at Hypersalon, Miami Art Basel (2014). 

Goerner studied Visual Art BA at Hochschule für Bildende Künste (HfBK), Dresden (2007–2010); Meditation with Mata Amritanandamayi (Amma) at the Amritapuri Ashram in Kerala, India (2010-2012), Visual Art MA at HfBK, Dresden (graduating 2016), and is now pursuing her ‘Meisterschüler’. Her latest work was commissioned by the Helmholtz Institute in Freiberg, Germany. 

Exhibition in collaboration with Pushkin & Gogol.