Curator Daniela Yvonne Baumann on the Exhibition »Elias Wessel: Device«

Opening remarks by art historian Daniela Yvonne Baumann marked the launch of the exhibition »Elias Wessel: Device.« Titled »Sehen wir die Welt wirklich, wie sie ist, oder nur das, was uns gezeigt wird?« [Do we really see the world as it is, or only what we are shown?], her speech invites reflection on the artworks on view and how contemporary perception is shaped by digital interfaces and the relentless stream of mediated images. Baumann—working as an independent curator and writer, and formerly director of the Walther Collection in Neu-Ulm—described how »Device« not only presents selected works on view but also fundamentally transforms the experience of viewing through a distinctive installation concept.

Installation view »Elias Wessel: Device.« Selected works from the series Images Through an Algorithmic Lens. (All images © 2025 Elias Wessel / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York)

Rather than using conventional wall displays, the works are arranged in stacks, evoking the gesture of swiping through images on a smartphone or flipping through albums in a store. Only the front image of each series is visible; the adjacent walls remain intentionally sparse, displaying only the cleats and nails required for installation.

Installation view »Elias Wessel: Device.« Cleat for selected works from Die Summe meiner Daten

By disrupting familiar modes of display, »Device« compels viewers to slow down and accept that not every image can be seen. In doing so, it draws attention to the complex interplay between art as a meaningful cultural object and art as something subject to presentation and exchange. The installation becomes a quiet but pointed intervention—questioning how art is perceived, valued, and consumed today.

Installation view »Elias Wessel: Device.« Selected works from Die Summe meiner Daten. In front: Die Summe meiner Daten – On Series, No. 2 (2017). Color photograph, archival pigment print, 199,8 × 164 cm (framed)

If you’ve ever wondered how art can translate the complexity of our increasingly accelerated world into visual language—this exhibition has answers. »Device« is a journey through both your digital and physical realities, reshaping how you perceive your increasingly unfamiliar surroundings—and how you consume and experience art itself.

Installation view »Elias Wessel: Device.« Ereignishorizonte series (Device Edition). Front: Ereignishorizont (Nummer 16), 2021. Torned color photograph. Device Edition: 7,5 × 5 cm; Framed 34,3 × 26,7 cm

The exhibition presents six central series of works as stacked image blocks (»devices«), reminiscent of the fleeting way we scroll through digital images on our smartphones. The works themselves originate from a range of sources: fingerprints on smartphone screens, unconventionally executed panoramic shots, and—perhaps—your own social media profile, dissolved into vibrant color gradients.

Installation view »Elias Wessel: Device.« Cleat for selected works from the Liebst (2016) series

Yet as abstract and painterly as the works may appear, each image in this exhibition asserts itself as a more convincing representation of reality than the perfectly calculated pictures produced by our digital devices. See what happens when absolute abstraction meets absolute realism. Welcome to »Device.«

Installation view »Elias Wessel: Device.« Small edition of Die Summe meiner Daten – On Series. In front: Die Summe meiner Daten – On Series, No. 10 (2017). Color photograph, archival pigment print. Original 199,8 × 164 cm (framed)

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