INTER - V.I.P. - VIEW with Dr. Friedrich Kasten, Gallery Kasten, Head of the Gallery Assembly Mannheim.

Ritter: Which emphasis in art-styles does the Gallery Kasten have?

Kasten: The emphasis is on figurative art, which has naturally many faces. This possibly starts with an affirmative statement but can lead into complete abstraction. In this delta everything takes place. Obviously humans are present in the center of art, in the different media, thus painting, plastics and in the new media, photography and video.

Ritter: Do you discover artists?

Kasten: One must always run and look with open eyes through the world, to see what happens. The older a gallery is the smaller will be the clearance for new artists. Things one sees that are new and inspiring, must fit into the spectrum compiled so far. To that extent borders are shown for discoveries. But on the other side a possibility has to be created of presenting new positions, because what we want to point here in Mannheim is art. We show art and not only the return of the eternal-same, thus, there must be a certain chance for novelties. Natural strategies offer themselves like group exhibitions e.g., external projects, as the new Projektraum 4, to be able to carry this out a piece further.

Ritter: Are specific exhibition's topics planned for the Projektraum 4 ? I thought it should function rather as an area, just used by the Mannheimer galleries, which are in the federation?

Kasten: Yes, because the colleague Knaus has gone to Frankfurt, it would be very unfortunate, if one gives up this art location. It is established, well-known and to that extent a continuation of gallery work in this area is nearly an obligation. The four members share this opinion. We'll make this project now in such a way that always two exhibitions run at the same time. There are two areas, which are used by the colleagues, who find themselves together, for individual presentations in each case. In addition, the art pieces can have an installative character, or can consist of pictures like a completely normal exhibition, but there is no strategy for the moment. The common is that the Projektraum 4 is supposed to extend the spectrum with new names in respect of what is traditionally shown here.

Ritter: How do you solve the problem that you have to summarize artists? The other galleries have a completely different program than yours. How can this be represented adequately?

Kasten: If artists make installations, the installation will align itself to art the artist has made so far, that can be very reduced, or very opulent, but the strategy for presentation is the installation and different positions will meet again within this, as painting can have completely different faces. And thus, to connect that will be the situation in the long run. One can e.g. place recent pictorial positions against each other and then look how the presentation is solved by the one, how by the other one. Thus it is clearly enriching.

Ritter: How do you think about the regionality of your gallery?

Kasten: Regionality was never important to me. I show artists, because they represent certain positions. Where they are living is not of prior importance.

Ritter: Isn't there rather an international adjustment?

Kasten: The artists come from all countries, but it does not stand anywhere “we show international artists” as with other colleagues, “we show men, we show women”. That is completely no matter at all, the art is crucial, the art must be good, then the remainder is subordinate, otherwise I build myself shears in the head already from the beginning.

Ritter: I asked, because concrete and informal art are very well represented in the region here.

Kasten: Well, figuration came up only with the eighties more into consciousness, the old figuration from the sixties, as strictly speaking an aftereffect of the lost generation from the war, thus by the change of generations this piece became further obsolet. The figuration came up only at the end of the 70's, at the beginning of the 80's again strengthened into focus. At this time my work in the Mannheimer art association began, and then in the Ninties the gallery. Such I became concerned with this art.

Ritter: Which artists could mention you in the connection?

Kasten: Stefan Szczesny, as a represnetative of the „Jungen Wilden“ who we had already presented in the eighties, and Hubertus Van der Goltz, which I have shown since establishment of our gallery regularly. In his work I particular estimate his plastic thinking, from area and space structure. He is a sculptor, who redefines area with his work, both in the interior and in the outside space. He comes from full figure plastics and then in the long run reduces this to his pictogram like indications, the picture program of the balancing figures. His installations are now clear and vital metaphors, unmistakable and by high reminder value. All the same in which country we show its work, they become everywhere understood.

Ritter: You care for collections in the ownership of companies?

Kasten: If one makes gallery work, one has in principle contact to two large groups. That is the private customer and that is the business customer. And if one addresses the two ranges, completely different action strategies and possible results come into concern, how you can place art within the special range. And in addition also a due portion of know-how belongs to it. Thus just to sell a picture at the wall is no feat. And then leave it to the customer, who will become unfortunate and not come back.

Thus, I must know, e.g. within the range of photography, what happens from the conversational perspective. What happens with the light, what happens with the Passepartout, what happens with the framing. This know-how a customer is allowed to require. I step also into an obligation to the artist. The straight conditions for art within the private sector for instance cannot be more differently from conditions within an office building . A lot can be done - however not each work of art is suitable for each place. Terefore exists a need of consulting in this respect, that is only an exemplary aspect from the far field.

Ritter: Thus you are already a kind of custodian for the things you sell?

Kasten: Yes. I look thereafter, care for it beyond the sales. The works of art should experience a support, such that a Galerist remains for the time after the sales a competent partner. Additionally, the galerist intermediates between artists and the public and must be able to stand this responsibility.

Ritter: Now to the Mannheimer Gallery Assembly : Since when has there been a concept to establish it?

Kasten: Our gallery federation in Mannheim exists since 2004. The idea to create a common platform arose from the convicion that we are not competitors. We are competitors on the market, but with completely different positions. And all these positions have their authorization. They are aesthetically different, in their strategies completely differently, in their mode of expression completely different, but all have their authorization within the special range of the art, because they have all in itself a comprehensible and definable quality.

This old thought, that competition has to be lead ad absurdum, is simply correct. And if one discovers, that all have actually a lot of things in common respecting the goal, like how a gallery is managed, what is prefered to be done with the artists, like fairs, issuing etc., and when you clearly look, you will recognize the fact that it gives a whole set of constructive possibilities, without having to have fear of a lost in indivuality. Not to separate, the potentials become simply more effective, because the with one another revalues the work of the galleries,

Ritter: Which concrete meetings have taken or will take place?

Kasten: The first step was to initiate a joint periodic publication together, simply in order to show what we make. Our art folder appears in a quarterly edition of 10.000 pieces and is distributed in the region The assembly is also a selective element, if one puts on the yardstick, the german assembly puts on for reasonable gallery work, then actually only those remain, which are in the Mannheimer gallery assembly, thus we meet first times on the quality level.

And then we considered, what further possibilities of doing something for the region it offers and brought along the „Saisonstart“ (season start). The galleries in Mannheim lie quite near to each other. For the season start we open on the same day and to the same hour and invite afterwards the visitors to a circuit. The increasing number of visitors from year to year shows that we are on a good way.

The instrument of the gallery days in the Mannheimer art assembly, today an important date in the yearly plan of the gallery assembly, had already exist. It was thus not genuially our idea. But the Art Association did not mangae to organize beside their exhibition program the gallery days any longer. Now, since we had created an organizational platform, the gallery assembly could take over this task. The 12^th Gallery days have taken place this year.

The tenth gallery days were the first to be organized by the gallery assembly. We modified the meeting a little. The focus was directed more strongly on the quality and less on the variety of possibilities. The number of the participants and the number of the issuing artists were concentrated. From this resulted in the long run a selfjuried exhibition, which combines artistic positions elsewise never seen together in an area. A really stretching experience of vision and also a noticeable acceptance in the public could be registered, which is also expressed in the annually rising numbers of visitors. In the long run a success model developed from this, which we meanwhile transported to Heidelberg. Meanwhile the first gallery days took part at Heidelberg, and in this year in November the first Ludwigshafener gallery days will be opened. 2008 in the spring we will organize again the gallery days in the Mannheimer art association and will probably arise in the autumn in Speyer. Those are however all additional activities, much employment beside the exhibitions in the own galleries, together with fair participation, claiming artists and collecting support, in more material than financial regard. But the galleries are also the last bastion, which can decide on their contents, because we need not to care about neither political constellations in the assignment of subsidies of the public hand calculation, nor on the possible requests from sponsors.

Ritter: The gallery days take place in the spaces of art associations?

Kasten: Yes, art associations art for a project like the gallery days equal standing partners. Like them we show contemporary art, this fits. Our self-understanding does not depend on whether we organize gallery days in art associations or museums. The gallery days are a gesture from us, a part of our cultural responsibility for the region.

It is a completely loose, own history, one must create synenergies again and again, and the art associations have their own public, visitors, who have never been in a gallery, although they visit art associations, and the galleries have their own public, from those a part have never been in art associations. And in such a way there an exchange takes place. One communicates, that is the crucial.

Ritter: The condition for being an assembly member is nevertheless that the gallery has its head office here in Mannheim?

Kasten: No. Our statutes have also the passage of the associated member. That is a chance for galleries outside of Mannheim to engage oneself on joint projects and advertising possibilities for galleries in the Metropolregion.

Ritter: How important is an exhibition in your gallery for the artist - you represent not all artists exclusively? Do the artists make a career jump?

Kasten: I have never observed that from this point of view. It will surely contribute to the name being more strongly communicated, that is completely clear. It is a reciprocal effect fot mutual advantage. If a young gallery receives the possibility to show already well known and established artists, then the gallery becomes enobled in a certain way. If the gallery is then after some years established by stable work, exhibitions, fairs, publications a.s.o., then it helps also yopunger, still not well known artists to get known in the region. The advance in confidence the gallery enjoys, will help the younger artist.

To answer your question about the exlusiveness: For all artists, whose work we show in our gallery, we are Erstgalerie (the first gallery who contracted the artist). Together with the artists it is outlined hwo to realize exhibitions and the appropriate concept work. Naturally we co-operate also gladly with the colleagues, approximately with group or topic exhibitions. The gallery colleagues, who co-operate with the appropriate artist, are completely clear the first partners.

A further successful form of joint venture is our co-operation with the art area Bernusstrasse in Frankfurt. Additional expenditure, whether one prepares now a presentation for the own gallery or for two places of issue, that are comparable in the premises, is marginal. Additional expenditure is exceeded by far by the resulting synergies, the bundling of the forces on an exhibition project. That applies to the transport costs just like to the whole printed products, which are needed for an exhibition. After the end of the running time, the respective exhibition is exchanged. The relative proximity of Frankfurt and Mannheim is here naturally pleasant, also for the visitors, who can drive to a possible second consideration then, just about twenty minutes from Mannheim to Frankfurt or reverse. For the artists it has the advantage, to be able to call in the exhibition listing two places. The art and the artist are located in the center of our activities. That must be convincing, then everything is alright.

Ritter: Thank you for the discussion.

Gallery Kasten

Dr. Friedrich W. Kasten

Werderstr. 18

D-68165 Mannheimer

Tel. 0621 40 70 38

Fax 0621 40 35 69

Email GalerieKasten@aol.com

www.galerie-kasten.de

Kunstraum Bernusstrasse

Marina Grützmacher

Bernusstrasse 18

60487 Frankfurt A.M.

Tel. 069 97 78 36 56

Fax 069 97 78 36 57

Email MG@kunstraum-bernusstrasse.de

www.kunstraum-bernusstrasse.de