Heiner Sebastian
Sebastian Heiner was born in Berlin in 1964. lived and worked in Beijing, in 2010 in Shanghai (studio in the North Bund art zone), in 2013 in Bangkok (studio in V64 artstudio). In 2013 he took part in a trekking tour across the Greater Caucasus in Georgia, and in 2014 he traveled across Israel and Jordan. Currently he lives in Berlin.
- 1984-91 — Study at the Berlin University of the Arts, Berlin
- 1986 — Summer Academy in the class of Wolf Vostel, Malpartida de Caceres, Spain
- 1991 — Master's student at the Berlin University of the Arts, class of Klaus Fusmann
EXHIBITIONS
- 2021 — Die ewige Wiederkehr: Flucht.Freundschaft.Kunst – Gruppenausstellung – White Square Gallery, Berlin
- 2021 — C19-Days – museum FLUXUS+, Potsdam
- 2020 — Positions Berlin Art Fair 2020 – White Square Gallery
- 2020 — Among Strange Suns presented by Oliver Eckstein- Galerie N°3
- 2019 — Exhibition at National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea, Traveling to the End
- 2019 — Exhibition at Kunstkabinett Corona Unger Bremen – Flash – Flying Colours
- 2019 — Performance “Tremendous Dream” Studio Berlin
- 2019 — eat!Berlin, Museum FLUXUS+ Potsdam, 6-course menu with accompanying wines and art
- 2018-19 — Alleando, Collage der Künste zum Jahreswechsel, Galerie Kunstkabinett Corona Unger Bremen
Moloch city
In the Moloch City oil painting cycle, launched in 2018, Heiner's experiences from metropolises such as Bangkok, Beijing and Shanghai are transformed into dark fantasy dreams, where high priests, depicted in a Cubist style, interact with warlike armed robots. Berlin-based media designer Michael Vruck conceived a series of ten carpet canvases based on them, and the renowned manufacturer of designer textiles, JAB Anstoetz, turned the idea into ready-made carpets.
Vruk develops the theme in the spirit of science fiction from Stanislav Lem and the Strugatsky brothers to the Chinese author Liu Tsixin. The characters invented by Heiner in bright clothes are tired of the chaos of the world and society around them and yearn for more developed, unearthly civilizations. After their leader and some of his allies make contact with the aliens, a spaceship arrives. But the earthlings reject the aliens and condemn them because of their apparent superiority, so the aliens decide to fly away. The high priestess is trying to reconcile the parties, this leads to a mutual exchange of ideas and the realization that aliens have always been there and now open up the opportunity for humanity to rise to a new stage of development. Above this final scene, a spaceship hovers and an artificial moon shines. The exchange of ideas and the lively collaboration between Sebastian Heiner and Vrook has led to the creation of a modern pictorial novella, in which there is room for a wide variety of interpretations. Wrook conveyed this story in a compelling and relevant way through graphic design. And then the artists opened up completely new perspectives in the field of the embodiment of fine arts in textiles.
Series Open Borders specially for Russia
Exploring Russia since the end of 2019 as a historical and cultural space lying between Europe and Asia, the German artist Sebastian Heiner, a representative of the German school of abstract expressionism, creates a series of Monotypes "Open Borders" from February 2021 to October 2021. The series is dedicated to Russia. Why? In 2019, the artist, who has a workshop in Shanghai and an office in Berlin, flies between Asia and Europe. By the will of fate, the most convenient type of flight is Aeroflot flights, with refueling in the capital of Russia - Moscow. The artist indirectly encounters a country about which he read a lot, the history of which is closely intertwined with the history of his country. Interest in culture and history continues with interest in the sphere of the Russian contemporary art market and design. The first acquaintance with the art environment of Moscow and the first acquaintance with the Astra gallery and its owner - Alina Kryukova. Encounters with heartbreaking contrasts. He had already experienced something similar in Bangkok, Shanghai and Beijing - millions of people, millions of lives, and no certainty for the European "pure reason". Sebastian and his team are preparing to come back to the country of the “new dream” - Russia. But the visit was not destined to take place. Pandemic. Visas canceled. Contacts between the countries have been paused. Almost 2 years later, the artist returns to Moscow again. October 2021. Brings works with him.
SELECTED PUBLICATION
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