In recent years Gerhard Richter, Max Beckmann, Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Neo Rauch and Stephan Balkenhol have enjoyed exhibitions on the walls of the German ambassador’s residence in Paris. By invitation of the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in France the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany in Paris present the exhibition Elias Wessel : La somme de mes données at the historical Palais Beauharnais. Selected works of Die Summe meiner Daten, 2017 are on view from January 28 through July 6, 2020 (extended until December 28, 2020).

Exhibition view of Elias Wessel : La somme de mes données at Palais Beauharnais, Paris. January 28–December 28, 2020. Artworks: Die Summe meiner Daten, On Series, No. 5 and No. 8, 2017 (all images © Elias Wessel and VG Bild-Kunst Bonn with courtesy of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, 2020)

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue conceived by Uwe Melichar in cooperation with the artist including essays by Stephan Berg, Intendant of the Kunstmuseum Bonn and Jenny Graser, Curator of Contemporary Art Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz). In cooperation between the artist and the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung (SNV), Berlin the accompanying exhibition program includes a speech by the artist and a lecture by Celine Göhlich, digital expert at SNV, both addressing the risks and societal challenges of digitization. SNV is a non-profit think tank working on current political and societal challenges posed by new technologies. Guided tours with art historians will take place over the duration of the exhibition.

Exhibition view of Elias Wessel : La somme de mes données at Palais Beauharnais, Paris 2020. Artworks: Die Summe meiner Daten, On Series, No. 2 and No. 3, 2017

Selection of Die Summe meiner Daten – B/W Series, 2017 (small format edition) next to a Jacques Louis David portrait of Prince Eugène Beauharnais (1781-1824), son-in-law to Napoleon.

Elias Wessel, Die Summe meiner Daten – On Series, No. 8, 2017, Color Photograph, 217,7 x 164 cm (framed)

The vigorous strokes of Die Summe meiner Daten, Origin (On Series, No. 1) are in concert with the luxurious lining of Louis XVIII’s cascading robes.

Exhibition film released by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in January 2021. Director and Editing: Maria Anna Tappeiner; Director of Photography: Andreas B. Krueger and EWS New York; Assistant Camera: Sarah Soheyli-Schaffner and Tobias Hellmann; Composer Original Music: Natalia Kiés, Mixing: Manuel Schlindwein (video © Elias Wessel and VG Bild-Kunst Bonn, the artists and the authors, 2020)

Related