John Bock Explained

John Bock
Birth Place:	Schenefeld, Steinburg, Germany
Nationality:	German
Occupation:	Artist

John Bock (born 1965 in Schenefeld, Germany) is a German artist. He studied in Hamburg, Germany and lives and works in Berlin.

Work

Bock is a multi-media artist primarily known for his performances. Since 1991, he creates environments hand crafted from found materials which function as symbolic settings for his "lectures." More recently there has been an increased production of film and video work.^[1]

In his "lectures", Bock acts on "stages" built from tables, cupboards or multi-level wood constructions. The objects are handmade or re-modeled accessories of the lecture, made out of clothing, electrical equipment such as hoovers and mixers, or "plastic diagrams" that illustrate his mathematical explanations. After the lecture, they are left on the stage which thus forms a "theatrical collage". The "lectures" are structured by different scenes in which Bock sometimes works with (non-professional) actors; frequently he plays pop songs or classical pieces from a record player. The lecture is mostly recorded on video. The film is then integrated in the installation, documenting the lecture throughout the exhibition.^[2]

Bock has been professor for sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts of Karlsruhe since 2004.

Exhibitions

Bock participated in numerous international exhibitions, among others the Venice Biennial (1999 and 2005) and the documenta 11 in Kassel (2002). He has also had solo exhibitions in a number of international institutions including MoMA and the New Museum in New York, Kunst-Werke Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin, Kunsthalle in Basel, Secession, Wien, and the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.

He has participated in various group shows including Martian Museum of Terrestrial Art, Barbican Centre, London, and "Laughing in a Foreign Language", The Hayward Gallery, London, both in 2008. John Bock: Maltreated Frigate, a monograph of his work, was published by Walther Koenig Ltd, 2007.

Bock is represented by Galerie Klosterfelde, Berlin, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, and Regen Projects, Los Angeles.^[3]

Selected exhibitions

Source:^[4]

Germany

City	Venue	Type	Collection/Installation	Year(s)
		Individual	John Bock’s Medusa im Tam Tam Club	2006
			Kunst und Papier auf dem Laufsteg [Art and paper on the catwalk]	1998
	Element		Am Tüddelband der Liebeselastizität	1997
		Collective	The Addiction	2005
		Individual	The greased bendsteering in the luggage gets tangled up with the white shirt (German: Die abgeschmierte Knicklenkung im Gepäck verheddert sich im weissen Hemd)	2009
	Haus am Waldsee	Collective	Anstoss Berlin, Kunst Macht Welt	2006
			Das Gängelband der Kunstwohlfahrt	1997
	Klosterfelde Gallery	Individual	ArtemisiaSogJod – Meechwimper Lummerig	2000
			John Bock: Lütte mit Rucola, Klosterfelde	2006
			OHR-WALACHEI	2011
	Kraftwerk Berlin	Individual	Paramoderne = Rokokkogobrot	1999
		Collective		1999
	Schinkel Pavillon			2011
		Individual	1 = 2 + Kleinodtod	2000
	Temporäre Kunsthalle	Individual	FischGrätenMelkStand	2010
		Collective	Berlin Biennale (LiquiditätsAuraAromaPortfolio)	1998
	Bonner Kunstverein	Individual	Im Dilemma der ExistoEntropie	2001
		Collective	Zeitwenden – Rückblick & Audblick	1999
		Individual	Im Modder der Summenmutation	2013
	Gesellschaft für Aktuelle Kunst	Individual		2000
	Austellungsraum Schnitt			1999
			Die Dreckschleuder	1996
	Kunstverein Freiburg		Koppel op Kop. ars viva 1999-2000	1999
	Museum für Neue Kunst	Collective	Works from the Boros Collection	2004
	Das Trojanische Schiff		Der Fremde in der 4. Etag	1995
	Friedensallee 12		Das Kunstwerk des 21. Jahrhunderts	1995
			Komparativer Kunstfähigkeitsvorteil	1993
	Golden Pudel Club		Mord und Robotermalerei	1992
	Hamburger Bahnhof Museum für Gegenwartskunst	Individual	PestKOP im black rebel motorcycle club	2005
	Helga Maria Klosterfelde		Meechfieber im Paradoxonmodderkarton	1998
	Klosterfelde Gallery	Individual	Ma’am prosciutto crudo	2001
	Kunsthaus Hamburg		Kunstkarton	1994
		Individual	Der Pappenheimer	2013
	KX. Kunst auf Kampnagel		Rasputin ist Mütterchen	1997
			4 x Rezipientenmodelle	1993
			Das Feld	1995
			Der kleine Rezipient und der grosse Rezipient	1993
			Die dynamische Nacht des Titerus	1996
			Die Kunstwohlfahrtsmaschine	1993
			Die molekulare Heimsuchung des Herrn 0,47	1997
			Elephant	1993
			Gribbohm	1996
			Haschkeks	1993
			Heilung Nr. 4	1994
			Jackson - Action	1992
			Kunst – Mädchen – Erfolg – Tod
			Paul Eluard Gesichtskorrektur
			Wie werde ich breühmt?
	Westwerk		Törtchen der Leidenschaft	1994
		Collective	Captain Sheriff Schippert Dröge	2000
	Kunstverein Hanover		home and away	1999
		Individual	Dionysische Monologicus – Gelüste eines Schwachomate	2000-2001
	Heidelberger Kunstverein	Collective	Artists as Collectors	2007
	Laurids & Mattheus		BommelbabyfaceNelson	1998
		Collective	Freestyle: Werke aus der Sammlung Boros	2001
	Haus der Kunst	Collective	“Aller Anfang ist Merz – von Kurt Schwitters bis heute”	2001
		Individual	Rasputin ist Mütterchel	1999
		Collective	German Open : Gegenwartskunst in Deutschland	1999

Europe

Country	City	Venue	Type	Collection/Installation	Year(s)
				Quasi-ich-isoquantenschar-Kammer	1999
		Grazer Stadtraum	Collective	RE_public	2000
		Steirischer Herbst		Von der Kunst bis zum Warten + drinnen Jungtiere	1999
		Kunstraum Innsbruck	Collective	Soufflé, eine Massenausstellung	2007
		OK Center for Contemporary Art Austria	Individual	Ma’am prosciutto crud	2000
				Regardez le Diskjockey Long John Silver “El Niño”	1998
				Silageproppen verstopft den Streptopenfluss im Love-Time-Mluiplikator	1998
		Galerie der Stadt Schwaz		$ 1.000.000 Knödel Kisses, pfüti	1999
				MienGribbohmWien	1998
		Charim Galerie	Collective	SoonSonicShySONSupernovaSide UP	1999
			Collective	Zeitwenden - Rückblick und Ausblick	2000
		Der heilige Anwalt in Antwerpen		Lokaal 05	1996
		Stella Lohaus Gallery	Individual	A-Buba	2005
				Yes Sir No Sir	1999
			Collective	Memme muss schlafen opening exhibition of S.M.A.K.	1999
				Der Onkel im Koffer	1996
					1999
		Jacob Fabricius	Collective	"New Settlements"	2000-2001
			Individual	Curve-Vehicle incl. π-Man-(.), The Curve	2010
			Collective	Martian Museum of Terrestrial Art	2008
			Collective	Laughing in a Foreign Language	2008
			Individual	Klutterkammer	2004
		Program	Collective	Rough Diamond	2005
		RCA Galleries	Individual	MEECHbuildings – “playing among the ruins”
			Individual	John Bock	2007
			Individual	John Bock	2001
			Collective	8th Biennale d'art contemporain de Lyon	2005
		FRAC Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur	Individual	John Bock	2005
			Collective	Dionysiac	2005
		Eleni Koroneou Gallery	Individual	No Time No Screws	2009
			Collective	The Harder You Look	2007
					2001
			Individual	Regardez le Diskjockey Long John Silver	1999
				Nai Aristoteles Ochi – Nichtsabsolut	1999
		Mikrokosmos Cinema	Individual	Film Retrospective	2008
		Kling og Bang	Individual	Skipholt	2005
			Collective	Reykjavík Arts Festival
			Collective	Beyond the Country	2007
		Gió Marconi Gallery	Individual	Inside Beyond	2008
				John Bock	2003
				opt. APE trouvé Moving 50 Diagram	1999
			Individual	John Bock	2004
			Collective	LA FORMA DEL MONDO/LA FINE DEL MONDO	2000
			Individual	MultiplexQuasiSiena – “le repubbliche dell’ arte germania”	2001
		Centro d’Arte Contemporanea			2001
			Collective		2013
					2005
					1999
				Existo – Tour 99 “ars viva – Gernzgänge”	1999
			Collective	(……) – Surrogat	2006
			Collective	Dada's Boys	2006
		Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga	Individual	Nöle	2010
		European Biennial of Contemporary Art	Collective	Manifesta 5	2004
			Collective	The Hamsterwheel	2008
		Klosterfelde		MolkeMeMindVehikle	1999
			Individual	Lombardi Bängli

Americas

Country	City	Venue	Type	Collection/Installation	Year(s)
		Jumex Foundation		Lost-Egg in the Desert	2011
			Collective	The High Desert Test Sites (Palms)	2007
			Individual	Palms	2008
			Individual	John Bock	2007
				Lichterloh / roh	2011
		The Moore Loft		Zero Hero	2006
		Anton Kern Gallery		Bendix Harms Lebenslieben	2008
			Individual	John Bock	2010
				John Bock – Mit Schisslaveng	2006
				Maybe-Me-Be-Microworld	1999
			Collective	Into the Quasi-Me-Hill	2012
			Collective	Fit to Print: printed media in recent collage	2007
			Collective		2006
			Individual	Multiple Quasi-Maybe-Me-Be-Updown (fashion show)	2000
				MolkeMeHindVehikel “Children of Berlin”	1999
		Nyehaus		Abnormal	2005
		Zwirner & Wirth	Collective	Girls on Film	2005
				Lecker Puste (Delicious Breath)	2012

Asia + Oceania

Country	City	Venue	Type	Collection/Installation	Year(s)
				Pizza Kiwi Nazionale	2000
		Insa Art Space			2008

Lectures

• 2000: Four Lectures, Museum of Modern Art, New York
  • “Aller Anfang ist Merz – von Kurt Schwitters bis heute”, Sprengel Museum, Hannover, Germany, 6 June
  • Gribbohm meets Mini-Max society, (lecture 4, MoMA N.Y.C.)
  • thread waxing space, “death race”, Brooklyn, Dec.
• 2009: Lecture / Fashion Show The greased bendsteering in the luggage gets tangled up with the white shirt (in German: Die abgeschmierte Knicklenkung im Gepäck verheddert sich im weissen Hemd) at HKW, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany

See also

• Robecchi, Michele, "John Bock: A Man in Space", Flash Art, January–February, 2005, p. 92-95.
• Galloway, David, "Spray the Ketchup, Fling the Lettuce", ARTnews, May, 2006
• Coulson, Amanda, "John Bock", Frieze, Issue 111, November–December, 2007
• O'Reilly, Sally, "John Bock: Hide and Seek", Art Review, 2007, p. 52-59.
• Millard, Coline, "John Bock", Modern Painters, July 15, 2010
• Smith, Roberta, "Art in Review: John Bock", The New York Times, April 2, 2010
• Tsitsovitis, Yannis, "John Bock's Unorthodox Machines", Under/Current Magazine Vol. 6, 2011, p. 144-149.

Further reading

• Book: Art Now. Uta. Grosenick. Burkhard. Riemschneider. Taschen. Köln. 25th anniversary. 2005. 32–35. 9783822840931. 191239335.

External links

• John Bock at Anton Kern Gallery
• John Bock at Galerie Klosterfelde, Berlin
• John Bock at the Berliner Poster Verlag
• John Bock at Sadie Coles HQ
• John Bock at Fondazione Nicola Trussardi
• Lecture / Fashion Show The greased bendsteering in the luggage gets tangled up with the white shirt at HKW, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany VernissageTV Video September 2009.

Notes and References

1. http://www.schirn.de/en/exhibitions/2007/john-bock/john-bock-films-exhibition.html John Bock. Films, June 7 - September 23, 2007
2. http://cgi.klosterfelde.de/user-cgi-bin/artists/?s1=John+Bock&s2=02-text John Bock
3. Web site: Regen Projects - Artist list.
4. Web site: Blog. 2009-04-08 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090107024341/http://www.sadiecoles.com/john_bock/biog_more.html . 2009-01-07 . .