Maximilian Hallermann: Das Stahlwerk

In the organizer's words:

With his exhibition Das Stahlwerk, Maximilian Hallermann transfers characteristic elements from the gym to the exhibition spaces of galerie januar. With its humorous interplay of material and form, Das Stahlwerk invites visitors to question routines and stereotypes that are usually associated with physical self-optimization. Weights, bars and benches become starting points for questions of body and gender politics.

In his sculptures and video works, Maximilian Hallermann incorporates precise observations as well as his own personal experiences from the gym and competitive sport. For Hallermann, art and the gym are not contradictory. Rather, he recognizes comparable processes in both fields: for example, in setting goals or in the struggle for progress, but also in the way materials and bodies are shaped and deformed. In the steelworks, the interactions between the forces acting on each other are taken to extremes when not only the person but also the training equipment is transformed.

It is often the small details in Hallermann's works that - in view of a seemingly omnipresent (self-) staging and optimization urge - illustrate the increasing dissolution of the boundaries between public and private space. Hallermann's subtle observations ultimately serve as a basis for questioning supposedly ideal body images and the spaces in which they are formed and performed. The combination of these seemingly contradictory spaces - studio and fitness studio - ultimately proves to be a logical and consistent continuation of his artistic exploration.

Maximilian Hallermann studied Performative Art with Nicoline van Harskamp at the Münster Art Academy. He lives and works in Ahlen.