Museum Folkwang presents installation by Kate Mackeson in the 6 ½ Weeks series

From 26 November 2022, the Museum Folkwang will present the first institutional solo exhibition by Kate Mackeson (*1985) in the 6 ½ Weeks series. The British artist is a fellow of the international residency programme Neue Folkwang Residence, which has been awarded annually to two artists by the Museum Folkwang and the Neuer Essener Kunstverein since 2021. During a five-month residency in Essen, Mackeson developed several works that she is now presenting as installation in the Museum Folkwang.

 
For the exhibition Antechamber, Kate Mackeson combines fabric works with found metal objects. Used fire irons, which the artist has manipulated almost beyond recognition, now captivate in a humorous misuse. With the help of a local knife maker, she further provides the used pokers with sharp, shiny knife edges that she straps to the walls of the gallery. A fabric leg of amour hangs from one metal work, while a skirt like form (faulds) is seemingly penetrated by another. Circular, shaped paintings on faux leather hang from a chain, these Prostheses that the artist refers to as lips extend further her interest into the posturing of the body through abstracted garments and artificial attachments.  

Mackeson's concept is continued in the title Antechamber: originally from courtly culture and with a strict set of societal rules, today's antechamber is mostly a mere waiting room. In Antechamber, Kate Mackeson assembles works that create new symbolic and material contexts. Mackeson removes suggested forms and found objects from their original purpose and recombines them. In doing so, they refer to their origins as well as to their own alienation.

 
New Folkwang Residence 
Within the framework of the residency programme, two scholarships are awarded each year to international artists for a five-month working stay in Essen. The scholarship is linked to a solo exhibition at the Neue Essener Kunstverein or the Museum Folkwang in the 6 ½ Weeks series. Valentina Triet's exhibition at the Neue Essener Kunstverein will open on Friday, 16 December, 7 pm. The Neue Folkwang Residence programme is made possible by the Folkwang-Museumsverein e. V. and the Olbricht Foundation. Sponsored by Vonovia.  

6 ½ weeks 
The exhibition format 6 ½ Weeks is based on short-term planning and offers young artists the opportunity to present their works at the Museum Folkwang. The format offers space for artistic and curatorial experiments and enables visitors to discover young artists from different countries. 6 ½ Weeks is sponsored by the Stiftung Kunst, Kultur und Soziales der Sparda-Bank West. 

Information 

6 ½ WOCHEN 
Kate Mackeson  
Antechamber  
26 November 2022–15 January 2023

 
Admission free 

Opening 
Friday, 25 November 2022, 6:30 p.m. 
6:30 p.m.: Kate Mackeson. Antechamber  
Words of welcome:  
Peter Gorschlüter, Director Museum Folkwang 
Vera Pues, Stiftung Kunst, Kultur und Soziales der Sparda-Bank West 
Antonina Krezdorn, curator of the exhibition 

Kate Mackeson will be present. 
DJ and bar with the support of the Junge Kunstring Folkwang, in cooperation with Gitter Rave.