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Ian Waelder
[scroll down for a selection of projects]

SELECTION OF WORKS (2014 – 2022):
(not chronologically ordered)


Stain & Repair (Handle with care, 2023. Inkjet print on cotton canvas covered with a layer of raw linen with water stains, ink, glue, tissue paper, glass cleaner, pencil, tippex and felt-tip pen. 390 x 163 cm. Stain & Repair (Handle with care, 2023. Inkjet print on cotton canvas covered with a layer of raw linen with water stains, ink, glue, tissue paper, glass cleaner, pencil, tippex and felt-tip pen. 390 x 163 cm. Stain & Repair (Handle with care, 2023. Close-up. Romantic Gestures (assembly line), 2022. Inkjet prints on acetate film, found metallic object. 53 x 10 x 5 cm Romantic Gestures (assembly line), 2022 Romantic Gestures (assembly line), 2022 Injured Bird (The streets are still the same), 2023. Used sneaker, papier-mache, tissue paper, cardboard box and sheet of anti-reflective glass. Resting on top of two iron rods attached to the wall. 31,5 x 23,5 x 15 cm Injured Bird (The streets are still the same), 2023. Used sneaker, papier-mache, tissue paper, cardboard box and sheet of anti-reflective glass. Resting on top of two iron rods attached to the wall. 31,5 x 23,5 x 15 cm Injured Bird (The streets are still the same), 2023. Used sneaker, papier-mache, tissue paper, cardboard box and sheet of anti-reflective glass. Resting on top of two iron rods attached to the wall. 31,5 x 23,5 x 15 cm Injured Bird (The streets are still the same), 2023. Used sneaker, papier-mache, tissue paper, cardboard box and sheet of anti-reflective glass. Resting on top of two iron rods attached to the wall. 31,5 x 23,5 x 15 cm Stain & repair (Bare hands), 2022. Silkscreen on cotton canvas covered with a layer of raw linen with water stains, ink, glue, glass cleaner, pencil, tippex and felt-tip pen. Stretched on aluminium frame. 195 x 163 cm. Displayed at Francis Irv, New York (2023) From hip to fingertip (Opel upside down), 2022. Remainder of the acrylic resin mould of the Opel Olympia sculpture made in collaboration between the artist and his father, putty on wall, iron rods and remains of the wall on the floor. 33,5 x 35,5 x 30 cm. From hip to fingertip (Opel upside down), 2022. Close-up. From hip to fingertip (Opel upside down), 2022. Close-up. From time to time, 2022. Two switched on original Opel Olympia headlights (1935 model), wiring system and turnbuckles. Variable dimensions. Edition 1/1 + I A.P. From time to time, 2022. As seen at the solo show "Is it like today?" (2022) at ethall gallery, Barcelona From time to time, 2022. Detail. From time to time, 2022 A nose is a nose is a nose, 2022. Silk-clay ©, acrylic paint and putty on wall. 4 x 7 x 3,5 cm. To handle with care (Bare hands #01), 2022. Cutout of Inkjet print on acetate glued to the wall behind the entrance of the exhibition space. Series composed by a number of cutouts of hands that are originally holding different parts of the Opel Olympia in the instruction manual of 1935. 24 x 14,5 cm. Bare Hands nº553 (Scheinwerfereinstellung), 2022. Ink and water on raw linen superimposed with inkjet print on canvas. 195 x 163 cm. You who are the stranger (Torso), 2022. Marks of use on wood, museum glass, acrylic resin cast of Opel Olympia sculpture made in collaboration with my father Juan Waelder, plaster strips, inkjet print on Epson photo paper glued on wood, found metallic drawers. 178 x 60 x 40 cm. You who are the stranger (Torso), 2022. Close-up. You who are the stranger (Torso), 2022. You who are the stranger (Torso), 2022. You who are the stranger (Torso), 2022. You who are the stranger (Torso), 2022. Close-up. 1993 – (Test), 2022. Ed. 1/1. Gelatin silver print placed on room radiator and pen. "From a series of portraits of a Monstera that was gifted to my parents the day I was born, still alive and growing today at their house." 1993 – (Test), 2022. Close-up. 1993 – (Test), 2022. Close-up. 1993 – (#01), 2022. Ed. 1/1. Gelatin silver print framed in aluminum with green colored back mat and museum glass. 41.5 x 31.5 cm. "From a series of portraits of a Monstera that was gifted to my parents the day I was born, still alive and growing today at their house." 1993 – (#03), 2022. Ed. 1/1. Gelatin silver print framed in aluminum with green colored back mat and museum glass. 41.5 x 31.5 cm. "From a series of portraits of a Monstera that was gifted to my parents the day I was born, still alive and growing today at their house." 1993 – (#04), 2022. Ed. 1/1. Gelatin silver print framed in aluminum with green colored back mat and museum glass. 41.5 x 31.5 cm. "From a series of portraits of a Monstera that was gifted to my parents the day I was born, still alive and growing today at their house." Here not today (Melting Thoughts), 2022. Leftovers of breakfast (strawberry jam, butter, raisins) on Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper cut from February 9th, 2022. Pressed with sheet of museum glass on wood. Framed with transparent tape. 24 x 30 cm. Here not today (Melting Thoughts), 2022. Close-up. Background Vehicle #03 (Les Quatre Cents Coups), 2022. Laser print taped to the wall next to leftover nail from a previous install. 13,9 x 5,8 cm. Ed. 1 + I AP Family Nose (Bare Hands) nº1, 2, 3. 2021. Installation view as part of the group exhibition "Touch Release", at Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden. Family Nose (Bare Hands) nº1. 2021. Steel sheet, wood, glue, laser prints, tape, papier-mâché. 25 × 50 cm. Family Nose (Bare Hands) nº2. 2021. Steel sheet, wood, glue, laser prints, tape, papier-mâché. 25 × 50 cm. Family Nose (Bare Hands) nº2. 2021. Steel sheet, wood, glue, laser prints, tape, papier-mâché. 25 × 50 cm. Bare Hands nº554 (Scheinwerfereinstellung), 2022. Ink and water on raw linen superimposed with inkjet print on canvas. 195 x 163 cm. You who are the stranger, 2021. Opel Olympia headlight (1935-1947 approx), cabling. Dimensions variable. As seen at ARCOmadrid 2022, L21 Gallery booth. You who are the stranger, 2021. Close-up. You who are the stranger, 2021. Opel Olympia headlight (1935-1947 approx), cabling, stereo track, loudspeakers. Dimensions variable. As part of the group exhibition "Touch Release" at Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden. You who are the stranger, 2021. Close-up. Here not today (Cigar Smoke), 2022. Leftovers of breakfast (strawberry jam, butter, cereals) on Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper cut from February 2nd, 2022. Pressed with sheet of museum glass on wood. Framed with transparent tape. 24 x 30 cm. Here not today (Cigar Smoke), 2022. Close-up. Made With The Highest Attention To The Wrong Detail, 2018. Papier mache on vitrine. 131 x 31 x 31 cm. Part of the installation views of “¿Por qué no son todos así, como yo debiera ser?” (Why aren’t they all like that, as I should be?). Solo exhibition at L21 Gallery, Mallorca. 2021. Part of the installation views of “¿Por qué no son todos así, como yo debiera ser?” (Why aren’t they all like that, as I should be?). Solo exhibition at L21 Gallery, Mallorca. 2021. All the times I've fallen since 2008, 2018. Stereo, 1:10 min. in loop. It plays once every 5 minutes. Part of the solo exhibition "WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED IN AN EMPTY PARKING LOT?" at The Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki. 2018. This work plays all the extracted sound parts of the video recordings of the artist's falls between 2008 and 2012. Posture (Bruise), 2018. Found cardboard tube casted in bronze, patina. 182 cm x 10 ø cm. Wet (third one in the box), 2019. Papier mache . 28 x 11 x 10 cm. Doesn’t mean it’s there, 2020. Oil stick on raw linen superimposed with inkjet print on canvas. Artist’s frame. 196 x 163 cm. Here not today (Cold Breath), 2022. Leftovers of breakfast (strawberry jam, butter, raisins, cereals) on Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper cut from February 11th, 2022. Pressed with sheet of museum glass on wood. Framed with transparent tape. 24 x 30 cm. Here not today (Cold Breath), 2022. Close-up. (FRIEDRICH), 2021. Two sided vinyl record, gatefold cover, insert publication. First edition of 100 copies. Released and distributed by Heutigen Records. In pictures, displayed at Fabra i Coats, Barcelona, 2021. As part of the group exhibition Guanyar-se el pa, by the finalists of the Sant Andreu Contemporani prize. (FRIEDRICH), 2021. Two sided vinyl record, gatefold cover, insert publication. First edition of 100 copies. Released and distributed by Heutigen Records. In pictures, displayed at Fabra i Coats, Barcelona, 2021. As part of the group exhibition Guanyar-se el pa, by the finalists of the Sant Andreu Contemporani prize. (FRIEDRICH), 2021. Two sided vinyl record, gatefold cover, insert publication. First edition of 100 copies. Released and distributed by Heutigen Records. In pictures, displayed at Fabra i Coats, Barcelona, 2021. As part of the group exhibition Guanyar-se el pa, by the finalists of the Sant Andreu Contemporani prize. Part of the installation views of “¿Por qué no son todos así, como yo debiera ser?” (Why aren’t they all like that, as I should be?). Solo exhibition at L21 Gallery, Mallorca. 2021. Bell’s choice, 2021. Oil stick on raw linen superimposed with inkjet print on canvas. Framed in wood. 263 x 196 cm. Losing by Winning (SKC), 2021. Oil stick on inkjet print on canvas stapled to the front side of the stretcher. 250 x 200 cm. Part of the installation views of “¿Por qué no son todos así, como yo debiera ser?” (Why aren’t they all like that, as I should be?). Solo exhibition at L21 Gallery, Mallorca. 2021. Zishi Sleeping (Series Looking, Finding, Living, Sharing), 2019. Inkjet print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag White paper, framed in aluminium. 30 x 40 cm. Ed. 5 + I A.P A precursor of today’s crumple zones, 2020. Close-up. A precursor of today’s crumple zones, 2020. Oil stick on raw linen superimposed with inkjet print on canvas. Framed in wood. 196 x 163 cm. Part of the installation views of “"We feel untied, but why?". Solo exhibition curated by Sonia Fernández Pan at Centro Párraga, Murcia. 2018. Here not today (Background bouquet), 2021. Berliner Zeitung newspaper cut from August 13th, 2021. Sour cream crisps, cashew nuts, peanuts and raisinspressed with plexiglass sheet. Framed with transparent tape. 25 x 30 cm. Part of the installation views of “¿Por qué no son todos así, como yo debiera ser?” (Why aren’t they all like that, as I should be?). Solo exhibition at L21 Gallery, Mallorca. 2021. Part of the installation views of “¿Por qué no son todos así, como yo debiera ser?” (Why aren’t they all like that, as I should be?). Solo exhibition at L21 Gallery, Mallorca. 2021. Part of the installation views of “¿Por qué no son todos así, como yo debiera ser?” (Why aren’t they all like that, as I should be?). Solo exhibition at L21 Gallery, Mallorca. 2021. An Enjoyment That Consists Of Testing And Playing With The Resistance Of Materials, 2015. Spray paint dust and marks of many different materials and objects found in the studio of the artist and that have been dragged through the floor of the exhibition space. Site-specific dimensions. The Car Of Our Time (Background vehicle), 2021. Made in collaboration with the artist’s father Juan Waelder. Esparto and plaster on raw DM plinth the height of his father’s shoulder (135cm). 38 x 76 x 166 cm (including plinth). (right) Aaaaaahhhhh uffff, 2018. Remainder of cardboard tube casted in bronze (patinated), plaster strips. 34 x 41 x 16 cm. A slippery wall in which nothing slips, 2018. Black matt vinyl letters on wall, font: Neuzeit Book Heavy. 7,5 x 233 cm. Dear Leg, 2016. Inkjent print in Hahnemühle paper framed in aluminium. 40 x 30cm. Ed. 3 + I A.P Support System, 2014. Laser print on 90gr paper, duct tape and found aluminum remainder. 80 x 52 x 43 cm. Support System, 2014. Close-up. And then I slipped, 2018. Candle wax on the three walls. Variable dimensions. Wrong #02, 2014. Laser print on 90gr paper with marks and dirtiness after being dragged by the floor of places where people practice skateboarding. 59,4 × 84 cm. I remember better days, 2018. Found iron bar, used old shoes. 29 x 237 x 15 cm. Part of the installation views of “"We feel untied, but why?". Solo exhibition curated by Sonia Fernández Pan at Centro Párraga, Murcia. 2018. A Piece of Floor Where We Used To Dance, 2018 Removed wooden floor. After the exhibition, the wall piece returns to its original location. Two parts: piece of new floor, and original floor on wall 431 x 232 cm each Part of the installation views of “"We feel untied, but why?". Solo exhibition curated by Sonia Fernández Pan at Centro Párraga, Murcia. 2018. Here not today (Cracked between arms), 2022. Leftovers of breakfast (strawberry jam, butter, raisins, banana chips, cereals) on Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper cut from February 4th, 2022. Pressed with sheet of museum glass on wood. Framed with transparent tape. 24 x 30 cm. Here not today (Cracked between arms), 2022. Close-up. Dear Leg (Weight, Marks, Bone), 2018. Found wooden remainder, papier mache and wooden foot figure with papier mache on glass vitrine. 134 x 111 x 23 cm. Dear Leg (Weight, Marks, Bone), 2018. Close-up. A Nice Reason To See Each Other Again, 2016. Quadraphonic site-specific sound installation. 7 mins in loop. Ed. 3 / II A.P. The four loudspeakers play a composition with sounds of the results of recording a skateboard session at the same space with friends from Waelder’s childhood he didn’t have the chance to see in years. 9 (Star), 2018. Oilstick and dirt sewn on raw cotton Artist’s frame. 25 x 31 x 3 cm. Is it at eight? (Series Looking, Finding, Living, Sharing), 2019. Inkjet print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag White paper, framed in aluminium. 30 x 40 cm. Ed. 5 + I A.P Carboard Knee, 2018. Old cardboard rest casted in bronze (patinated), plaster strips. Unique piece. 82 x 8 x 7 cm. Carboard Knee, 2018. Close-up. Warm Clothes, Cold Toes, 2019. Cardboard remainder, tape, marks of use and paint, silk clay. 49,5 x 44 x 19 cm. Warm Clothes, Cold Toes, 2019. Close-up. Here not today (Faust & Archipelago), 2022. Packing tape and croissant on Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper cut from February 2nd, 2022. Pressed with sheet of museum glass on wood. Framed with transparent tape. 24 x 30 cm. Here not today (Faust & Archipelago), 2022. Close-up. Four Attempts, 2016. Polyptych. Laser prints on 90gr paper glued to the wall. 210 x 140 cm each. Vehicle used by a character or in a car chase #01 (Der Fischer vom Heiligensee), 2022. Laser print taped to wall and slightly hidden behind room curtain. Ed. 1 + I AP. Part of the installation views of “Das Kniegelenk". Solo exhibition at L21 Gallery, Mallorca. 2018.




SELECTION OF EXHIBITIONS & PROJECTS (TO BE UPDATED):



01.

“Is it like today?”

2022

Solo exhibition at ethall gallery.
Barcelona, Spain.


Text by the gallery.





Full documentation and info.
Ian Waelder’s practice explores memory and trace by isolating material histories and language in relation to his biography, working through the poetics of the accident and the repurposing of the discarded. The exhibition Is it like today? brings together a series of recent works that focus on the search for the Opel Olympia, a 1930s car that belonged to the family of his paternal grandfather, the pianist Federico (Friedrich) Waelder, and which enabled him to flee Germany during Nazism.

Through the works that compose the exhibition, Waelder has carried out an investigation centred on family genealogy, recent history and the parallels between body and machine. This line of work emerged as the artist's response to moving to Frankfurt in 2017 and realising that he is the first member of his family to re-settle in the German country since his grandfather's exile, residing a mere 30 minutes from the original Opel factory.

The first part of this story began in 2020 after he found a tape containing a piano melody of his grandfather's, to date the only existing trace of his music. During that year, once a month, Ian aired this recording on a local radio station in Frankfurt.  [Read more] 


02.

“(FRIEDRICH)”

2021 

Vinyl record and insert publication released and distributed by Heutigen Records.

With contributions by Federico Waelder, Wolfgang Kress, Sofia Lemos, Ben Livne Weitzman, Louisa Behr, Carolina Castro Jorquera, Pau Waelder, Camilo Araya Fuentes.


Online publication.
Full documentation and info.

 Purchase here. 

(FRIEDRICH) collects the only trace known today of the music of Federico Waelder (born Friedrich Wälder), a German Jewish pianist and grandfather of the artist, exiled in Chile during the Third Reich. It contains a jazz improvisation on the B-side in duet with his grandson Ian Waelder, which was played on a German radio station once a month during 2020. On side A a speech in Spanish by the pianist can be heard with his grandson's dubbing into German. The EP is accompanied by a publication that contextualises the work, with contributions by Louisa Behr, Sofia Lemos and Pau Waelder, among others. This work is extended with the creation of the fictitious record label Heutigen Records, from where one of the one hundred copies of the vinyl can be purchased.

[Read more]



The opening sequence of Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia (1938) is recognized for its exacerbation of neoclassical beauty, strength and racial purity. Its closing scenes, however, depict a different embodied reality: athletes struggle with the vulnerability and exhaustion experienced at the finishing line, the unavoidable halting of speed wrought by their overextension, and the need to be held, covered and cared for.

Defeat and despair are the visible traces with which Riefenstahl ends one of the greatest political propaganda masterpieces of the twentieth century. The ending scenes of her filmic ode to the extravagant site of Third Reich political theatre that was the Berlin Olympics of 1936 is the departure point of Ian Waelder (b. 1993, Madrid) to explore the continuum of mourning and... [Read more]


04.

“We feel untied, but why?”

2018

Solo exhibition at Centro Párraga
Murcia, Spain.

Curated by Sonia Fernández Pan.



Full documentation and info.

We tend to think of cities as more or less ordered compositions of buildings, roads, streets, squares, bridges, tunnels, roundabouts and parks. The last of these seem to tell us that the traditional division between culture and nature has been another of our many epistemological fictions. The other elements, in contrast, help us to carry on believing that the world belongs to us. A city is an ideological organism and the whole planet seems to have turned into one great city in which matter, objects and people are constantly in motion. This hierarchical synopsis of elements also sees cities as structures whose main function is human transit through the various bodies that make it possible. But there are other material configurations of cities — and of the world — that cannot be reduced to human pragmatism. That exist in spite of it. Just as modes of transit exist that alter the pre-established spatial functionality of cities and the places in them and that occur in residual spaces. Journeys to nowhere in particular. A kind of transit that offers a certain resistance to converting space into a commodity, by turning it primarily into experience... [Read more]

Photo documentation by:
John Forest, Natasha Lebedeva, Lúa Oliver, Ivan Murzin, Iain Emaline,
Juan David Cortés, Paul Levack, Jiyoon Chung, Juande Jarillo, Eva Carasol.
© Ian Waelder, 2023