Ten Haaf Projects is pleased to announce “Wild Men”, a solo exhibition by German artist Sebastian Weggler. Following “Everything except a dance performance” (2012) and “Hail to the Artist” (2014), this is Weggler's third solo exhibition in the gallery.
Well known for his use of different materials and working in multiple disciplines, Weggler is a master of handicraft. Predominantly featuring wooden masks, the body of work of this exhibition also includes reliefs, sculptures and a tapestry.
Growing up in Southern Germany, Weggler has been witness to the Swabian-Alemannic carnival from a young age. While the title “Wild Men” refers to this fertility rite, Weggler’s work goes much further in the millennia old tradition. A total perfectionist, he studied the art of making masks from examples found throughout Europe, Africa and the Americas. Originating from rites and rituals, masks constitute a crossover of exposure and disguise.
Weggler opens up a world rich in shapes and colours, rituals and religion, pop culture and handicraft. Each mask is head size and unique, often carved from one single piece of wood.
The masquerade motif appears in the Bible on two different levels: an attempt to fool people and an attempt to fool god. Sebastian Weggler does both. While all the facial figures of the masks are vaguely known, none of them have an explicit attribution, leaving that to our imagination.
Born in 1983, Sebastian Weggler lives and works in Dusseldorf. His work is held in both private and institutional collections.

Opening with the artist: Saturday January 14th, 5-8 pm

mpefm HOLLAND art press release