Clemens Behr's work is based on abstract installations and sculptures built in both public and interior environments. These three-dimensional and volumetric collages which usually are dimensionally huge are made of found recycled ephemera as well as basic building materials such as cardboard, wood, paint, tape and found materials. Into the post there are some works from 2012 but I recommended to see his great portfolio.
“My work is complicated, inexpensive and improvised…My process all begins with the space, which acts as a basis for planning. The space defines the colors and shapes, as well as any fixing or mounting possibilities and the dimensions of the piece. I can’t plan that much in advance, because I can never be certain which possibilities and machinery will be available for me to use. Once I have the composition or an idea of the finished piece visualized in my head, I usually begin to paint the cardboard. Then a wooden frame is screwed together onto which the cardboard will be fixed. This occurs very haphazardly. Before I travel to cities like Delhi or Marrakech I do no preparation before. I just look at the city’s colors and shapes and try to adopt it in to my work. In general, the way I work should be a kind of transformation of the architecture. It pulls everything apart and assembles it in a new geometrical disorder. The source of my inspiration can definitely be traced back to the work of Marcel Duchamp and Kurt Schwitters, and I would name Gordon Matta-Clark as my favorite artist.” - Clemens Behr for Futurism 2.0. See more;
Suspended Bins & Broken Windows, 2012
Seize Marseille, 2012
The image below is from a duo show by Clemens Behr and Nural Moser called Rauminstallation mit Pumpe (und andere Sachen), curated by Open Walls Gallery and will open at Stattbad, on April 13th.
"The artists will present a large-scale sculptural piece inside one of Stattbad’s large empty swimming pools. The two artists' collaboration is a moving four-dimensional installation combining Behr’s trademark improvised abstract work and Moser’s sound piece. The sculpture is set in motion through the water being pumped from the pool triggering small mechanisms articulating and animating the whole piece. The show will also introduce the viewer to different types of works by Clemens Behr: paintings, silkprints, objects, as well as some of Nural Moser’s architectural printed collages."
