29.09.2010, Berlin | At first glance, surfaces are boundaries. But already the ancient natural philosophers were aware of the complex and enigmatic nature of this perception. Matter, they speculated, is not a continuum, but consists of small, ultimate elements that are átomos, i.e. indivisible. It is to this topic that the Aedes am Pfefferberg art gallery dedicates an exhibition entitled “Membranes, Surfaces, Boundaries – Creating Interstices,” which will open on October 8, 2010, at 6:30 p.m. The exhibition is sponsored by the Schering Stiftung because of its interdisciplinary approach at the interface of art and science.

The exhibition presents works by artist Heike Klussmann, architect Thorsten Klooster, designer and artist Susanna Hertrich, and designer Clemens Winkler. The projects and experiments show the interaction between the theoretical and material manifestations of membranes, surfaces, and boundaries, and how they mediate between everyday object, technology, and aesthetic production. The encounter of heterogeneous scientific and artistic practices and concepts, because of their differences, generates new ways of understanding and sensuous experience.

The concepts of membranes, surfaces, and boundaries are equally important in technological research, in the humanities, and in the arts, and render accessible important if disparate contents. By virtue of their complexity, these concepts are especially well suited to bringing together an important range of contemporary and historical developments in various disciplines in new and innovative ways. Whether visible or usable in everyday life or removed from our gaze such as in the field of nanotechnological material research or at the level of biotechnological and chemical processes, boundaries determine the reality of our lived world. They define and catalyze life processes, e.g. in the form of cellular membranes, skin, immune systems, or ecological habitats. Phenomena which occur at material boundaries play a role in the applied sciences, e.g. in chemical engineering, and thus also form a link to artistic production. This is manifested in the material forms of surfaces, in their media representations in photography, film, and digital visual media, but also in experiences of indifference such as Duchamp’s concept of “inframince,” which describes the barely perceptible difference between two adjoining processes or conditions.

Conceived by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science and the University of Kassel in cooperation with the participating artists, the exhibition launches a series of events jointly organized with the Aedes Network Campus Berlin. The goal is to generate a sophisticated dialogue between science and art. For the first time, surfaces become a space for interdisciplinary debate. The exhibition contributions correspond to the scientific positions of a workshop of the same name, which is organized by the MPI and takes place simultaneously with the exhibition opening in Dahlem. For more information about the workshop, please click here:

Membranes, Surfaces, Boundaries
Opening: Friday, October 8, 2010, 6:30 p.m.

Speakers:
Dr.h.c. Kristin Feireiss, Aedes Berlin

Prof. Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, Director at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin

Heike Catherina Mertens, Arts and Culture Director of the Schering Stiftung

Aedes am Pfefferberg
Christinenstraße 18-19 | 10119 Berlin

Exhibition Dates: October 8 – November 11, 2010
Tue–Fri: 11 a.m.–6:30 p.m., Sat–Sun: 1–5 p.m.

picture credits:
1. Susanna Hertrich | Robot
2. Heike Klussmann | BlingCrete
3. Thorsten Klooster | Smart Surfaces