ILLUSIONENS KOLLAPS (THE COLLAPSE OF ILLUSION)

The Danish artist Pernille Braun breaks with the classic glass art tradition and transforms albert contemporary into a space where not only the material is explored and challenged, but also our world- and self-understanding in her solo exhibition 'Illusionens Kollaps'.
Hence, just like the countless manipulable properties of the glass medium, our existence consists of constructed and reproduced states and conditions. We often don't think about these constructions - but why not?
The artist is drawn and challenged by the glass's ambiguity, creating a thrilling interaction between the medium and the artist.

Braun encounters unforeseen events in the creation process, all of which are essential for the final expression of the works. In this process, the material can be repeatedly transformed from soft to hard, and the material's previous state changes with each movement.
Thus, the medium is in an eternal transformative process, creating a particularly mystified and mythical character.

In the exhibition 'Illusionens Kollaps', Braunn actively uses this ambiguity to confront and present the viewer with new forms, constructions, and experiences.
She reincarnates previous ideas and materials through her caring approach to art. Therefore, the sculptures embody Braun's 20 years of fascination and engagement: a long drawn-out of experience floating from element to element and united in one body of work.

As something new, you'll experience an expansion of the artist's use of mediums in the form of three mixed-media sculptures specially created for the exhibition. Here, Braun unites glass and wood materials carefully and slowly while she experiments with their transformative and contrasting forms and structures.
The sandblasted wood not only heightens the grain's circular structure but also the glass material's morphic nature. From the outside, these materials seem incompatible. Still, most beautifully, Braun breaks with the artistic boundaries and merges the wood and the glass in a complex and almost paradoxical symbiosis.

In this way, the exhibition challenges our biased notions about the possibilities and limitations of materials but also our constructed reality. Braun thus invites the viewer into a space where these constructions and illusions slowly collapse while new questions and experiences arise.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Braun (b. 1978) works at the intersection between object and concept and investigates aspects of time, place, and matter via the glass medium.

In her artistic practice, Braun seeks to understand and challenge our constructed reality and the definitions that form our foundation of understanding.

She has participated in a large number of exhibitions internationally and has had solo exhibitions in France, the USA, Belgium, and Denmark.

She studied at The Royal Danish Academy of Art, School of Design, and gained a masters degree from the Royal College of Art in London in 2008. Her work can be found in the collections of Victoria and Albert Museum, London, The Danish Art Foundation, Musee Ariana, Genève, Bornholm Art Museum, Denmark, and Design Museum Denmark.