(in collaboration with Hans Berg)

Zach Feuer Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new film and sculpture by Nathalie Djurberg.

In her films, Djurberg employs stop motion animation to bring to life a cast of crude Plasticine puppets that she models by hand. Her narratives begin seemingly innocent but quickly turn into intense studies of human behavior that force one to confront their darkest nightmares and deepest fears. Using the familiar language of claymation and featuring the music of Swedish composer, Hans Berg, Djurberg’s work, neither censored nor sentimental, tackles revenge, violence, sex, dominance, racism and the macabre.

In I found myself alone, the viewer follows a young ballerina as she makes her way through a gigantic table set for tea. She climbs on cake, attempts to paint a white vase with chocolate sauce and builds a precarious staircase from sugar cubes. As she dances her way through the enormous tea set, wrecking havoc, tension between the young girl and the objects builds. Without someone present to intercede on her behalf, the young ballerina is overpowered by the objects and drowns in candle wax dripping from candelabra.

In addition to the film, Djurberg will present the tea set as an autonomous sculptural installation. Every object, meticulously crafted by Djurberg, is inspired by 18th century Neo-Baroque china. On the gold-gilded pieces, embellished with elaborate floral ornamentation, is an impressive display of an array of desserts including cakes, pastries, cookies and candies. The entire installation is enclosed in Plexiglas.

Nathalie Djurberg was born in 1978 in Lysekil, Sweden and received a master’s degree from Malmö Art Academy. A solo exhibition of her work is currently on view at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Djurberg has also had solo shows at the Prada Foundation, Milan; Kunsthalle Winterthur, Switzerland and Kunsthalle Wien, Austria. Her work has been featured in exhibitions at Tate Modern, London; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York and Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin. In 2008, she was awarded the Carnegie Art Award, Scholarship for a Young Artist. Djurberg lives and works in Berlin.

This exhibition is her second exhibition at Zach Feuer Gallery.