For the common city dweller it is just refuse and nuisance, for Clemens Behr it’s the precious substance for his work: wooden plates and rails, cardboard boxes, rack columns, corrugated metals and plastics – the variety of materials and options, forms and colors is just endless. What the street does not offer, Behr finds in DIY markets: from bolts and doors to windows and shelves to slats and plates of any shape, structure and size. Ironically, one of the chains selling off the achievements of modern architecture for small change named itself „Bauhaus“.

In his work Clemens Behr combines a classic technique of modern art – collage and assemblage – with contemporary imprints from the graffiti and skater scenes; the big names of art history – Picasso, Duchmap, Schwitters – meet the materials and the spirit of the postmodern metropolis. The solidness of the material is updated with rhythm and movement.

Behr transforms the boundless waste of our civilization into installations that fill walls and halls; what at first sight looks quite chaotic, is distinctly structured. The smaller objects we are concerned with are the essence of these monumental works. In them a quality surfaces that might be overlooked in the larger works: a sound quantum of humour, wit and irony. And absurdity.

What is the Unpleasant Shelf so upset about? Door 2 comes along as a deconstructed object, however it looks more like a knocked-out, “folded” boxer. The Roller Door is „deconstructed“ as well – meaning: it is a sawn-up door panel whose fragments are put together to form a complete, yet non-functional object. Behr even suggests a scheme for a new highway entrance. In this and in other new works the „green“ element adds a new touch to the œuvre. These plants, mosses and patches of lawn, however, are by no means natural, they are all made of plastic and come from the DIY store – just as the light is an artificial one. The green sign indicating the escape route might suggest a natural reaction to this.

In his more recent works Clemens Behr merges his diverse objets trouvés into assemblages with clearly defined edges: the works now resemble classical easel paintings. Thus the play between chaos and order is brought to the point. While the original constructivists – following a rational, utopian concept – were striving for a perfect world, Behr works with the fragmentarian and disparate aspects of our urban culture. Which he, for his part, now turns into a „constructive“, traditional order. Within the frame, however, chaos endures – albeit a well-organized one.

For further information please see the artist’s website: Clemens Behr.

Studio photograph: Brock Brake

Biography

Lives and works in Berlin

Solo Exhibitions

Group Shows (Selection)