Jahn und Jahn is pleased to present the first solo exhibition of Ludovica Carbotta in Germany. Under the title "Die Telamonen (The Telamons)", the show brings together a selection of sculptures originally created for Carbotta's most recent exhibition at the Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Switzerland, and new sculptures and works on paper produced for this ongoing project.

The title refers to the classical architectural term “telamon” which designates the male version of a caryatid. The first sculpture in this series took its name from Faustine, the protagonist of the novel "The invention of Morel" by Adolfo Bioy Casares. Published in 1940 and highly praised by Borges, this book is considered a masterpiece of fantastic literature dealing with the theme of creation in a wider sense. Faustine marked the beginning in the series of sculptures now on display, in which each new creation is also a reproduction of the previous one. Through this process, Carbotta frees her figures from the literary source and opens up a new narrative path. This finally leads to texts written by the artist, with which she resumes and further develops the physical and plastic characteristics of her works. The telamons thus become the protagonists of a new family saga in which inter-family constellations are negotiated by means of sculptural expression. Spatial factors such as proximity, distance, void, and accumulation become components of the family structure. 

Carbotta’s practice focuses on the physical exploration of inhabited space and on how individuals establish connections to their environment. At the time of the lockdown, this view of the world took on a new relevance, as it opened up new perspectives on our reality. With her latest series "Monowe", Carbotta creates the alternative reality of a city that is both construction site and ruin. A single person inhabits this fictitious place. The result is a series of installations and sculptures depicting parts of the city, as well as artefacts that could originate from the use, imagination, or memory of the only inhabitant. Oscillating between reality and fiction, Carbotta’s recent works combine installations, texts, and performances, which reflect on the notion of site, identity, and participation. The artist aims at regaining the role of imagination as a value for the construction of our knowledge.

Ludovica Carbotta (born 1982 in Turin, lives and works in Barcelona) completed an MFA at Goldsmiths University in London (2015). She was awarded the Ariane de Rothschild Prize, Milan (2011), the Premio Gallarate (2016), the Gasworks International Fellowship, London (2016), and received a special mention at Premio ITALIA, MAXXI Museum, Rome (2016) as well as the New York Prize from the ISCP/Columbia University (2018). In 2017 Carbotta was fellow researcher at Jan Van Eyck Academie, in Maastricht. Her work was presented in the 58th International Art Exhibition "May You Live in Interesting Times" at the Venice Biennale (2019), curated by Ralph Rugoff. Among others, she has exhibited at Bündner Kunstmuseum, Chur; Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin; Drawing Center, New York; La Casa Encendida, Madrid; Mambo, Bologna; Palazzo Fortuny, Venice; Künstlerhaus Museum, Graz; MAXXI Museum, Rome; Hangar Bicocca, Milan; Dublin Contemporary, Dublin; and Matadero, Madrid. 

Yara Sonseca Mas