Nephelococcygia/// Cloud Cuckoo Land /// Solo Exhibition by David Hochbaum

In Aristophanes’ comedy “The Birds,” an imaginary city built in the clouds by birds at the instigation of two Athenians represented both a fantastic caricature of Athens in the poet's day and a sort of Philistine Utopia: full of gross enjoyments, hence, in literary allusion, cloudland- “fools' paradise”.

A fools paradise in the clouds- is that where we’re going when we search the clouds for familiar objects? This action, coined precisely in Aristophanes’ play, is called Nephelococcygia. The two athenians, Pisthetaerus and Eulpides, were fed up with the corruption that governed their city. Hence, they decide to turn into birds in search of a better home. They call this city, “Nephelococcygia”.

With the aid of friends turned birds, they make it their duty to create an ideal, flawless city- “fools paradise”. The city never comes into existence; it remains a fragment of their imagination. The birds are ostraziced as crazy. In german the termn is known as Wolkenkuckucksheim, literally “cloud cuckooland”.

For New York based artist, David Hochbaum, these are the questions he wants to explore through his recent work he did for his solo show at Strychnin Galerie, opening on the 13th of September 2013. Although technology facilates our daily lives and enables us to reach out to others, it seems like with every battle won, we lose two. Is our society in search of a better surroundings- are we in need of a fools paradise?

In the Vault, Strychnin Galerie will be unveiling Marco Mazzoni’s and Saturno Butto’s latest series of works. A beautiful selection of studies, drawings and illustrations. Small in size, big in excecution. This is an opportunity to experience the artists in a different context- behind the scenes, “underneath” the painting.

This Friedrichshain outpost of Yasha Young’s Strychnin Gallery offers passage into a surreal wonderland.
Opened in 2002, Strychnin Berlin—like its sister galleries in NYC and London—concentrates its curatorial efforts on young, emerging artists whose work ranges from fantastic realism and pop surrealism to lowbrow, but who have not yet been categorized under trendy art world monikers. The diversity of the artists is mirrored in their choice of media, with paintings and photographs sharing the gallery space with sculpture and installations.
The gallery participates in international art fairs such as Bridge Art Fair, Liste Cologne, and Art Fair Cologne, which appointed Young to its selection committee in 2008. In keeping with the vision of its founder, Strychnin not only emphasizes the individuality of its artists but also seeks to strengthen ties with Berlin’s creative community, often arranging for local DJs and musicians to liven up vernissages

Strychnin Gallery
Boxhagenerstr. 36, 10245 Berlin
PR: Alejandra Valencia
E-mail: pr@strychnin.com
Tel: 030 9700 2035

This release was published on openPR.