LOST PLACES

Rosafarbene abstrakte Skulpturen hängen von der Decke eines Glasatriums, durch die Fenster ist ein blauer Himmel sichtbar.

From a sound installation to a dancing avatar – the “LOST PLACES” art project is located at the heart of an urban environment, Leverkusen’s deserted City C shopping mall, and represents a new departure for Bayer Arts & Culture in collaboration with the Kunstverein Leverkusen.

The idea was to create a temporary exhibition of contemporary art in unused shop windows and business premises. For a limited time, the deserted mall will be a public exhibition space. The theme and title of the exhibition is “Lost Places”. Urban areas are changing and empty department stores can be found in many towns and cities.

LOST PLACES turns the spotlight on the City C mall to show the zeitgeist of its past. At the same time, it is a monument to many forgotten places and memories. The artists have managed to recall the urbanity of past times. However, their works are also a clear indicator of what has always been there and will probably be with us forever – culture.

Extract from the opening address in August 2021 – Thomas Helfrich

,

Head of Bayer Arts & Culture

German Design Award 2023

German Brand Award 2022

More information

LOST PLACES catalog (PDF, 6 MB)

Kunstverein Leverkusen Schloss Morsbroich e.V.

Contact:

Andrea Peters

Arts Management

Phone: 0214 30-41275

E-mail

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An einem Glasgebäude über einem Eingang mit der Aufschrift „Stadtzentrum“ prangt ein großes Banner mit der Aufschrift „Lost Places“ und den Daten „27.08. – 31.10.2021“.

The entrance to Leverkusen’s City C mall during the exhibition in 2021. Some 15 artists who have lived or studied in North Rhine-Westphalia were invited to give their creative take on this location. They developed works for individual windows and empty stores that reflect the subjects of advertising, shopping malls and the deserted space. The mall was transformed with the intention of encouraging visitors to consider the “Lost Places” in our towns and cities.
© Chris Rausch

Ein großes Innenbanner zeigt eine Person auf einem weißen Pferd am Strand. Der Bereich ist geräumig, mit moderner Architektur und Glaswänden.

Andy Kassier: “LIFE IS BETTER AT THE BEACH”
Andy Kassier is a photographer and concept artist whose work takes a sarcastic and ironic look at the dream of wealth and success and how people present themselves on the internet. Kassier (born 1989) studied at the Academy for Media Arts Cologne and became known for "success is just a smile away", a performance on Instagram since 2013.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andykassier/
© Chris Rausch

Weiße abstrakte Skulpturen in einer Glasvitrine mit dem Text „Frauke Wilken“ auf der linken Seite, in einem sonnenbeschienenen Bereich mit gestreiften Schatten auf dem Boden.

Frauke Wilken: “ME AND MYSELF”
In the City C mall, Frauke Wilken has hung five almost life-sized sculptures from the ceiling in a shop window. Despite their smooth surface, the sculptures look like fur coats. At the same time, they have the appearance of garment bags waiting to be unpacked or collected. They hang there like relics of a once lively exchange of goods.
© Chris Rausch

Schaufenster mit abstrakter blauer Kunstinstallation in einem modernen Flur. Der Text auf dem Glas lautet „JOHANNA REICH VIDEOINSTALLATION“.

Johanna Reich: “NEUE STÄDTE” (New Cities)
Johanna Reich is one of Germany’s most high-profile media artists. Given the number of empty stores in the mall, she looked at urban planning theory. She believes that today’s city centers need to be reinvented, but that the random and unforeseen are required in order to come up with something new. The shop window shows a painting on a shimmering blue film. Moving LED strips behind the film show ideas for “New Cities”.
© Chris Rausch

Schaufenster mit großen Glasfenstern und minimalistischer Auslage mit einer weißen Lampe auf einer roten Plattform. Die Außenfassade des Gebäudes ist mit blauen Fliesen verkleidet.

Andreas Schmitten: “SITZEND, LIEGEND” (Seated, Reclining)
Andreas Schmitten’s sculptures and installations are playful and nightmarishly cool at the same time. The smooth surfaces and clear but fine colors combine to yield elegant objects on plinths or in large display cases. Two objects equally reminiscent of historical monuments and displays in upmarket boutiques are installed on a light stage in the window of the former Woolworth store.
© Chris Rausch

In einem Eckgebäude eines Einkaufszentrums sind große Fenster mit Auslagen von Modegeschäften zu sehen. Der Bereich ist sauber, geräumig und gut beleuchtet.

Gudrun Kemsa: “NEW YORK, NEW YORK”
Gudrun Kemsa has installed four of her works from Berlin and New York in the windows of a former hairdressing salon. With these pictures of vibrant cities she is satisfying our desire to explore the big wide world. At the same time, she reinforces the contrast between two worlds – a deserted and outdated shopping mall and a bustling urban space. Gudrun Kemsa is Professor for Moving Images and Photography at the University of Applied Sciences in Krefeld, Germany.
© Chris Rausch

Auf einem Neonschild in einem Fenster steht: „Ja, sie sagte: Die Welt ist gefroren.“ Im Hintergrund ist ein Restaurantstand zu sehen.

Krzysztof Honowski / Laura Sundermann: “‘YES’, SHE SAID. ‘THE WORLD IS FROZEN’, SHE SAID”
Actress Laura Sundermann and media artist and literary scholar Krzysztof Honowski from the Academy for Media Arts Cologne have decided to exhibit two sentences from a fictional conversation in what was formerly the Ducale ice cream parlor. It’s a conversation that could have taken place here a long time ago while enjoying an ice cream during a shopping trip. The sentences are garishly lit and draw all the observer’s attention. They stand alone and isolated as a relic of what was once a social meeting place.
© Chris Rausch

Zwei künstliche Palmen mit freiliegenden Wurzeln werden in einem Glasfenster unter rosa Beleuchtung präsentiert.

Heike Kabisch: “SHE IS LOOKING FOR A POSITIVE AND POWERFUL PLACE…”
In two shop windows, Heike Kabisch shows installations with sculptures reminiscent of palms – a plant that has a positive significance in many cultures and brightened the City C mall in pots for many years. Kabisch’s sculptures are produced in a studio. Moist unfired clay is stuck to fragile supporting structures and branches onto thick wire. Twigs stuck into the clay grow thanks to intense care. Heike Kabisch (1978) has received international grants and prizes for her work.
© Chris Rausch

Monochrome abstrakte Kunstwerke mit strukturierten Mustern und geometrischen Formen, die hinter einem Glasfenster in einer modernen Galerieumgebung ausgestellt sind.

Katja Davar: “FROZEN LIQUID ASSETS”
Inspired by the “Deep Impact” auction, which saw the sale of 70 of the most spectacular meteorites ever found, Katja Davar began thinking once more about our sometimes very reckless consumer behavior. Thus, this almost dystopian ten-meter landscape displays stones or meteorites that might be worthless or valuable, but we are unable to discern the difference.
© Chris Rausch

Moderne Kunstinstallation mit großen, goldfarbenen abstrakten Formen auf einem Metallrahmen, ausgestellt in einem geräumigen, gefliesten Innenbereich.

Gereon Krebber: “LÖPLAS”
Sculptor Gereon Krebber works with unusual materials such as bitumen, plastic and burnt wood to create his large sculptures and objects, shaping them into abstract forms and biomorphic structures. In the City C mall, he has installed something long and reclining, half open with gaping insides. It seems to be stranded in this deserted place, perhaps a whale? This brownish black sculptural carcass absorbs light and draws the gaze, its foreignness emphasizing the desolation of this unused urban space.
© Chris Rausch

Auf einer grauen Steinwand hängen zwei gerahmte Fotografien belebter Stadtstraßen.

Boris Becker: “ZWEI FENSTER, ZWEI WELTEN” (Two Windows, Two Worlds)
Known above all for his very objective shots of architectural and landscape details, Boris Becker – a star pupil of Bernd Becher – was long committed to the fundamentally documentary approach to photography. Today, his work also includes the narrative. For “LOST PLACES”, he has chosen views of packed narrow alleyways in the heart of the South Korean metropolis of Seoul and adapted them to the size of the two display cases, the exact purpose of which is no longer known. What used to be displayed there – goods or adverts?
© Chris Rausch

Innenansicht eines modernen Gebäudes mit großen Fenstern, einem Sitzbereich und einem Klinikeingang. Licht strömt durch das gemusterte Glas darüber und schafft eine helle und offene Atmosphäre.

Lars Breuer: “SCHOCK” (Shock)
In the City C mall, Lars Breuer wrote “SCHOCK” (Shock) across a whole bank of windows opposite the Sparkasse bank, creating a space that has been partially closed off from the outside world. Writing in a specially developed typography, Breuer addresses the reality of this place and reflects our reaction to almost ten years of emptiness.
© Chris Rausch

Rote abstrakte Skulptur, die von der modernen Glasdecke eines Gebäudes mit geometrischer Architektur hängt.

Aljoscha: “PARADISE TO BE CREATED”
Aljoscha (born 1974) has designed a poetic and colorful object made of acrylic glass elements that floats above the observer in the mall. The transparent and irregular shapes merge into a swarm or a cloud hung by steel wires from the beams that support the glass roof. Aljoscha is a Ukrainian artist who has lived in Düsseldorf since completing his studies at the Düsseldorf Art Academy.
© Chris Rausch

In einem Schaufenster ist ein unscharfes Bild eines Gesichts mit dem Text „Charlotte Triebus“ und QR-Codes zu sehen.

Charlotte Triebus: “KIN_”
Charlotte Triebus (born 1988) is a dancer and performance artist. She develops installations and performances that combine many different artistic media including music, dance and state-of-the-art technology. For the City C mall, Charlotte Triebus has worked with the Mirevi Lab she heads at the University of Applied Sciences in Düsseldorf to create an augmented reality performance in which an avatar dances through the spaces. The avatar multiplies, merges once more into a single figure and reacts to the observer.
© Chris Rausch