Bernheimer Contemporary

For his debut in Berlin, Daniele Sigalot chose the wonderful new location of Bernheimer Contemporary, situated in the immediate vicinity of the Museum Island, in the heart of Berlin. The title of the exhibit – SPIELRAUM – invites the visitors to let go of their inhibitions, labels, and formal detachment and allow themselves to be captivated by the kaleidoscope of colors, shapes, materials, and combination of techniques

characterizing the neo-pop universe of this “illusionist” and irreverent artist.

Sigalot’s work finds its roots in Sixties Pop Art as well as in aspects of everyday life, mass media, popular and mass culture, Street Art, and the worlds of soccer, comics and advertisement. His artistic language is suited to a generation that embraces the postmodern aesthetic and thus speaks to a cultural phenomenon: it re-appropriates clichés by bringing what has traditionally belonged to other cultural domains into a space dedicated to art. There is an undeniable Duchampian feel to this gesture which, in our times, produces a short-circuit of energy, activating an immediate bond of empathy with the viewer. Welcome to Sigalot's SPIELRAUM, an exhibition in four rooms where you will experience a temporary suspension of the real. You will find yourself immersed in an atmosphere of ecstasy and lightness devoted to

playfulness, illusion, and irony. Along the lines of Alighiero Boetti’s Aerei, paper airplanes are arranged in a dense but graceful fleet which catches the viewer by surprise, hinting at other possible scenarios; it is an archetypal image, an evocative symbol that fires the imagination. This immersive installation is a blaze of colors, a uniquely enthralling and enjoyable visual experience; the technique of folding aluminum captures the aesthetic of dynamism in a static form, once again demonstrating how the coexistence of contrasting and contradictory elements is one of the main features of Sigalot’s modus operandi. The artist chose the pliable material aluminum in order to emphasize the fragility, the exposure to a certain vulnerability that is inherent to life in an ever-changing world. The airplane thus becomes a

symbol that pushes our gaze towards the higher spheres of the imagination.

The journey continues with the new series of aluminum sculptures titled Bad Ideas. These works have a strong autobiographical imprint. The world of advertisement is seen here as one in which the human mind becomes comparable to a “thought-spitting” machine; there is a reference to creativity at all costs, which often fails to produce the desired outcomes. In order to represent the flimsiness of our times, Sigalot lampoons the acclaimed and narcissistic artist as well as the system of arts in general, understood as a self-referential system, but also contemporary society, which appears unable to extend beyond narrow-minded and circling critical reflection. His irony is also directed against the corruption and populism of the Italian political class, and against the idea of destiny itself, to which he even addresses a notice of dismissal: Dear Destiny. A countdown timer in a plexiglass display case counts the seconds in a thousand year span. This artwork will last for a thousand years – here we are, facing the artist’s urge to spawn a work of art that survives the passing of time. If only we could be here a thousand years from now to check if the stopwatch is still working! The journey ends with La Coppa Pizzeria: the world and friends revolving around Sigalot’s “factory” in Berlin, named exactly La Pizzeria. It also provides an ironic view on corruption, nepotism, and intimidation.  Now, dear friends it's time for Champagne!

Valentina Galossi