Biography Henning Bohl (Oldenburg, Germany, 1975)
Henning Bohl, who lives and works in Berlin, encourages us to consider the meaning of contemporary design. By using mass-produced paper materials, working models, designs and biographies combined with a framework of historical references, Bohl rethinks past utopias through the lens of the present. Bright colours, jutting geometrical forms and a distinctive, light touch characterize his paintings and installations. His works endeavour to reactivate ideas from sources ranging from avant-garde journals and the biographies of Bauhaus weavers to Kabuki theatre design. Inspired by Modernist architecture, Cubism and the Arts and Crafts movement, Bohl’s work is well known for its highly effective and quasi-theatrical use of space. Recent solo exhibitions include The Bus Wrap Book, Oldenburger Kunstverein, Oldenburg (2008); Non-solo, Non-group Show, with Ei Arakawa and Nora Schultz, Galeria Franco Soffiantino, Turin (2008); History of Garden Theory, Casey Kaplan, New York (2007); and La Revue Blanc, Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne (2006). Recent group exhibitions include the 1st Brussels Biennial for Contemporary Art, Brussels, (2008); Zuordnungsprobleme, Galerie Johann König, Berlin (2008); and Street: Behind the Cliché, Witte de With, Rotterdam (2006).