We are at Fritz-Reuter-Straße 1 in Dresden, deepest Neustadt. A small corner shop is an exhibition space for art and science for less than two weeks. It's a big experiment that's taking place here. This is where the Saxon innovation network 4transfer recently opened its office, the 4transferLab. And the first pop-up exhibition will take place here at the beginning of December. It is called "Feste Luft" and runs until 15 December 2023.
This is where art and science meet. And they both have their respective tools of choice. In the case of Felix Spiske, a doctoral student at TU Bergakademie Freiberg, it is a collection of sample vials on the evening of the vernissage. Felix Spiske is working on the question of how aerogels can be used in industry - namely in fibre optics. These optical fibres should soon make it possible to monitor chemical manufacturing processes in real time. In this way, these usually very energy-intensive processes can be managed more energy-efficiently and thus conserve resources. He will repeatedly take out his demonstration glasses on the evening of the vernissage and explain to the guests exactly what he is actually doing in the laboratory. And the seven artists around Wiete Sommer will have their interpretations of this research with them. Seven works of art that deal with Felix Spiske's research. For example, there is Deborah Geppert's installation "The Constant of Change" - a jar of green goo floats above a pile of earth.
The friendly, ironic undertone of some of the artworks is striking: Lucie Freynhagen's video "Feste Luft", for example, in which quotes from the laboratory pop up again and again: "I HAVE TO WORK WITH THE PHOTONS I HAVE" or the video installation "Aeroslip", over which an illuminated pair of men's knickers hovers.
The group of artists was led by designer and curator Wiete Sommer. She reports on the fruitful collaboration with Felix Spiske. The group met with Spiske several times, either on site or online. "He took a lot of time to answer our questions about his research," says Wiete Sommer. And Felix Spiske also spent time with the artworks that were inspired by his work. One of them moves him the most, the "Ramanizer" by Camillo Gulde. The "Ramanizer" looks like a technical measuring device or a kind of futuristic giant sewing machine. And it is precisely this machine-like quality that appeals to Felix Spiske, who is passionate about industrial design and could have imagined a career here too if he wasn't doing research at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg. And so the two worlds that meet here in the 4transferLab are perhaps not as different as one might have thought.
"Pop Up Science - Feste Luft" is the first exhibition of the innovation network 4transfer, which connects science, business, society and politics/administration under the leadership of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg. The Berufsakademie Sachsen, Meißen University of Applied Sciences and the Saxony State Association of Cultural and Creative Industries are also involved. This research transfer is actively supported and organised by the creative industries. 4transfer is scheduled to run for five years. Each year, there will be two Pop Up Science exhibitions in which artists present their view of research.
For questions about 4transfer, please contact Dr Stephan Meschke stephan [dot] meschke [at] zuv [dot] tu-freiberg [dot] de
Exhibition until 15 December 2023
Opening hours:
Mo - Thu 2-5 pm, Fri 4-7 pm
Location: 4transferLab, Fritz-Reuter-Straße 1, 01097 Dresden