MARKUS AMM, SEBASTIAN BLACK & PAUL COWAN
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DUVE Berlin is pleased to present *Very New Works*, a group exhibition, including works on canvas, board, installation, and sculpture by artists Markus Amm, Sebastian Black, and Paul Cowan.

*Very New Works* is a collection of three artists’ extremely recent creations, made specifically for the occasion of this exhibition.  Instead of focusing on specific works and their interactions, Very New Works brings together three artists who have diverse methods of creation, yet whose works all have strong sense of immediacy.  The pieces in the show are all metaphorically still damp - and the process of watching the materials dry parallels their finding their own solidified place in the world.  *Very New Works* captures the moment similar to when a pianist lifts their last finger from the keyboard and the final note echos through the hall - but before the concert hall either erupts in applause or just polite clapping.  A brief period of time when the art exists in a small vacuum, completed but not yet received.  

In order to expose themselves to such a naked moment, Amm, Black, and Cowan all create work that has, in some form or another, a self-aware sense of humor.  Amm is playful in his processes - moving oil across board in his own wholly unique method, wittily aware of his place in the linage of art history.  Black’s work, both in his period pieces and his new sculpture work, cause the audience to laugh outright, but then leave them to wonder why they have just done so, the mark of a piece that achieves the difficult balance of using humor, but that is clearly not a joke.  Cowan’s work is clever, sharp, and even biting; simplicity in placement and complexity in and idiosyncrasy in combination of materials give the audience pause, and in its elegance invite the audience to an intense and self-reflective viewing.

The exhibition takes the unadulterated millisecond of true newness, filled with tension, anticipation and excitement, and attempts to prolong it for just a bit longer to expand the rare experience of watching work come to life for the very first time.
 
Markus Amm (b. 1969 in Stuttgart, DE, lives and works in Berlin. DE) received his education at Hochschule für Bildende Künste Hamburg and at Hochschule für Gestaltung.  Recent solo shows include, Herald Street, London, UK, Galerie Karin Guenther, Hamburg, DE, David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Stuttgart, DE, and The Breeder, Athens, GR.  Amm is participating in upcoming group exhibitions at Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland at the Kunsthalle Bonn; White Flag Projects, St Louis, MO. Past group exhibitions include: DCardi Black Box, Milan, IT; Timothy Taylor Gallery, London, UK; Märkisches Museum Witten, Witten, DE; and at DUVE Berlin, Berlin, DE.

Paul Cowan (b. 1985 in Kansas City, MO, lives and works in Chicago. IL) received his MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2012 and a BFA from Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design in 2007.  Recent solo shows include, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago IL, Clifton Benevento, New York, NY, Michael Jon Gallery, Miami, FL, Important Projects, Oakland, CA, Shane Campbell Gallery, Oak Park, IL and  The Pigeon Wing, London, UK. Past group exhibitions include: James Cohan Gallery, New York, NY; Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA; Manifest Exhibitions, Chicago, IL; Hannah Barry Gallery, London, UK; and at Green Gallery, Milwaukee WI.

Sebastian Black (b. 1985 in New York City, NY, lives and works in New York City, NY) received his MFA at Columbia University in 2012 and a BA from Vassar College in 2007.  Recent solo shows include, C L E A R I N G,
Brussels BE, NY, Karma, New York, NY. He co-curated an upcoming exhibition at Algus Greenspon in New York, NY.