Ryan Weber
April 4 - May 10, 2008
Schalter is pleased to announce Please don't laugh at me. The exhibition will present new work by Schalter founder Ryan Weber, and will include a reconstruction of a photographic set by Dutch conceptual artist Bas Jan Ader (1942-1975).
Please don't laugh at me continues Schalter's investigation of how we understand and define the notions of exhibition and art work. Whereas traditionally we are asked to consider the exhibition as a whole made up of independent parts, Weber's work often asks to be seen as a gesture; that is as something that can be read both through what it presents, and what it represents as a decision and position.
Please don't laugh at me presents the viewer with two parts: a physical reconstruction within the gallery, and the provision of an additional title and invitation postcards. The reconstruction is based on a set Bas Jan Ader used to stage a photograph in 1969. Ader's original arrangement was set up to be photographed, and appeared as a black and white picture in two variations. Reframed here, Please don't laugh at me looks at the personal and authentic as well as where and how we locate the work of the work.
Ryan Weber is originally from Chicago, Illinois, and moved to Berlin in 2004. Weber received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he was awarded the School's Trustee Merit Fellowship. Weber's work has been shown both in Germany and the United States, and his writing has appeared in numerous publications. A forthcoming essay, "You Can't Do That in Art" will appear in Live Art, a catalogue being published by the Scottish Arts Council.
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