Olga Titus (*1977, CH) is the prizewinner of the fourth Bündner Kunstverein art prize. In the light of her Swiss-Indian-Malaysian biography the artist examines questions of identity and cultural imprint. Her pictures of printed sequins, installations and video works create a captivating cosmos of Bollywood-aesthetics, folklore, pop-culture and computer game worlds.

In the exhibition at the Art Museum Graubünden Olga Titus shows her so far largest work of sequins. She prints the shimmering sequins on both sides and creates the image compositions by running her hand across the sequins and by turning it at selected places. The artist describes the tilting of the sequins as a painterly gesture and says that the execution of her pictures is never completely over. Depending on the inclination of light the play of colour changes, depending on her touch the sequins newly realign themselves. The basis of these works is digital collages that are composed of images from the Internet.

In a new work group light also plays a central role. On thin metal surfaces the artist reproduces the outline of the sun’s reflexion, which appears on the metal sheet while she works. With gentle pressure she imprints the play of light onto the sheet. Olga Titus arranges these light engravings in the museum space as standing panels that can be seen from both sides. In the video Crystallization materiality and light also lie closely next to each other. We see a kaleidoscopic crystal encountering shreds of Asian landscapes, archaic masks, and second-life beaches. The image worlds of Olga Titus oscillate between digital and analogue aesthetics and are able to sharpen our mind for the multi layered cultural forms of expression. The exhibition is curated by Damian Jurt.

Accompanying the exhibition is a richly illustrated catalogue by Edizioni Periferia with texts by Damian Jurt and Stephan Kunz.

 

Portrait Olga Titus