German conceptional artist Dirk Dietrich Hennig (born 1967) uses the ambivalent title of historical interventions for his work,
that he developed since 1998. How do we construct history? What role do
individual and collective memories play in its formation? These questions are
central to Dirk Dietrich Hennig´s artistic practice. Hennig constructs art
history, he draws viewers into a dense socio-political discourse about the
concept of truth.
The basis of Dirk Dietrich Hennigs work is the
historical doubt.
His works develop a long-standing interest in issues of
history, where the term hstory shall be understood as relationships between
physical, social, political, psychological and abstract negotiations, which
can be seen or experienced either as isolated or as stable constructs. Rather,
Hennig searches for a historical Location, which must be constantly questioned
and redesigned on both the personal and social levels. In his works he
highlights the concepts of abstract and psychological construct in the
foreground. This shift results from an increased historical interest on
uncertain or ambiguous space which is in contrast to a position of clarity,
consistency and stability, and the value, even the necessity, not being in a
well-defined historical location demands. The work of Hennig explore different notions of
ambiguity and uncertainty as potentially productive forces, often through
humorous historical stories and dramas.
“The truly virtuoso storyteller goes by the name of Dirk Dietrich Hennig
(born 1967), lives and works in Hannover, and prefers to operate?as is hardly
surprising?under pseudonyms. Since 1998 this conceptual artist has undertaken
various "historical interventions" in an art-historical context; he thereby
addresses the very public which seeks the sensational and the constantly new,
the catching of whose attention represents so great a challenge. (…)
Comparable to the sharp-witted stirring-up of confusion by Orson Welles who,
in his famous radio adaptation of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds"
(1898/1938) or in the late, no less cynical film-essay "F for Fake" (1974),
used documentarily disguised fiction to give impressive impact to the
mechanisms of the respective medium, Hennig is fundamentally concerned with
stagings of art. Inextricably entwined with this endeavor is a penetrating
investigation with regard to the art world, to established measures of value,
and to the practices of the exhibition process. (…) Hennig took great care
with the meticulously arranged retrospective "George Cup & Steve Elliott."
With close attention to detail, two collections were feigned whose individual
items are now being presented for the first time in this exhibition?a witty
commentary on what has recently once again become an influential parameter in
the art world, namely that patronage which frequently goes hand in hand with
eccentricity and self-stylization. The exclusivity which is purported here,
along with a partial obscurity with regard to the provenance of the artifacts,
suggests one thing above all?authenticity. (…) The assumption is not totally
false that there may be recognized here a certain spitefulness towards all
those who skim over texts fleetingly, half-heartedly, and with only a
superficial interest, without reading them critically; on the other hand, this
counterfeiting is so perfectly achieved that it is actually quite difficult to
become mistrustful. But Hennig is concerned precisely with this aspect of
doubt, of the recapitulation and relativization concerning one's own
knowledge?and with the conditionalities and inadmissabilities inherent to
canonized and consensual truths. (…) One only does full justice to Hennig's
works, however, upon examining not only these aspects of institutional
criticism, but also the various, well-thought-out components constituting an
oeuvre of this type. For in spite of all rigorously conceptual orientation,
practical execution most certainly plays an important role in the case of
Hennig. (…) Hennig's consummate artistry lies, not only in his utilization of
the mechanisms inherent to the game of art through a dazzling mastery of its
rules, but also in his transformation of these insights into what is a
fantastically effective dramaturgy for spinning a richly resonant tale."
Naoko Kaltschmidt, Springerin, Issue 1 - 2009
grants & prizes
2016 - Villa Rosenthal, Residency Grant, Jena, Germany
05.01.-30.06.2016
-
Deutsches Studienzentrum Venedig, Italy
01.10.-31.12.2016
2014 - Paula Modersohn-Becker
Artprize, Worpswede, Germany
2012 - Haus der Stiftungen
Braunschweig, Germany
2010
- State of Lower Saxony Grant, Germany
01.01.-31.12.2010
2008 - Artprize Sparda Bank
Foundation Hannover, Germany
- Grant Kunstfonds Bonn,
Germany
01.01.-31.12.2008
2007 - ISCP
New York Grant of Lower Saxony, Germany
01.01.-31.12.2007
2006 - Grant
Kulturstiftung NRW, Germany
2004 - Residency Grant at Künstlerstätte Stuhr -
Heiligenrode, Germany
01.03.2004-01.02.2005
2003 - Residency Grant at
Künstlerhäuser Worpswede, Germany
01.01-31.12.2003