berlin art scouts | heather allen

Since 1998 Heather Allen's work has been centred around small, ca. 18 cm high figures, in which the artist portrays herself - as a man as well as a woman - sometimes completely naked and sometimes clothed. These individual selfportraits are made from a modelling material (Sculpey) that is oven-baked. The size of the figures is determined to a certain degree naturally by the artist's hands. It is a size that has arisen from working specifically with this quite firm material and has been a feature of the figures since their beginning.

The toy-format world of figures created by Heather Allen is secretive and opens up only on closer inspection. Some figures stand alone, others are drawn to each other or look at the viewer. The artist arranges them each time in new constellations, independent of context and spatial background. At berlin art scouts around fifty unclothed figures will be positioned lineally (hence the title) on an approximately eight metre long wall shelf. For the first time, the artist has

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	heather allen line up and be 8 – 26 January 2008 Curated by Marc Wellmann Reception 17 January 2008, 6 - 8 pm -> LineUpandBe.pdf \| 59 KB
		Since 1998 Heather Allen's work has been centred around small, ca. 18 cm high figures, in which the artist portrays herself - as a man as well as a woman - sometimes completely naked and sometimes clothed. These individual selfportraits are made from a modelling material (Sculpey) that is oven-baked. The size of the figures is determined to a certain degree naturally by the artist's hands. It is a size that has arisen from working specifically with this quite firm material and has been a feature of the figures since their beginning. The toy-format world of figures created by Heather Allen is secretive and opens up only on closer inspection. Some figures stand alone, others are drawn to each other or look at the viewer. The artist arranges them each time in new constellations, independent of context and spatial background. At berlin art scouts around fifty unclothed figures will be positioned lineally (hence the title) on an approximately eight metre long wall shelf. For the first time, the artist has
	also made a free-standing sculpture on which eight figures are permanently fixed. The figures groups are, through their gestures and looks, crossed through with subtle, narrative allusions: stories, however, which are decoded each time by the viewer in his or her own way. Heather Allen (born 1952 in Romford, England) has lived nearly ten years in Germany. In 2006 she moved from Frankfurt/Main to Berlin. She has exhibited in diverse galleries and Kunstvereins, and in 2004 she was invited to take part in the Kleinplastik Trienale (Triennale of Small Sculpture) in Fellbach. This year she had, among others, a solo show in the Óbudai Társaskör Gallery in Budapest.

	Heather Allen born 1952 in Romford, England 1974 BA Hons, Fine Art & Art History, Reading University, Carter Memorial Prize for Sculpture 1997 MA Fine Art (Combined Media) Chelsea College of Art & Design, London move to Germany, Frankfurt/Main 2006 - lives and works in Berlin
	Exhibitions (selection since 2001) 2007 100 Days = 100 Videos, GL Strand, Copenhagen Inselglück, Kunstverein Tiergarten, Berlin Kunst-Stücke 01, Advotec, Gießen (with Özcan Kaplan) Neue Positionen 1, Galerie K9 für aktuelle Kunst, Hannover (with Erdogan Bulat) Tease Art Fair, Köln Cellar Gallery, Óbudai Társaskör, Budapest (S) Oasenschatten, Kurt-Kurt Projektzentrale, Berlin (with Jan-Philip Scheibe) 2006 100 Days = 100 Videos, Heidelberger Kunstverein De(zentral), Neuer Kunstverein, Gießen Where is she, and who did the work?, Galerie Perpetuel, Frankfurt/Main (S) Der Esel ist Tot, collaboration with Julia Oschatz, Heimspiel, Frankfurt/Main (S) 2005 ARP, Galerie Hermann & Wagner (S), Berlin Forum-1822, Frankfurt (S) (Cat) Fellbach Stadt Galerie (S) 2004 9. Triennale Kleinplastik, Alte Kelter, Fellbach Extrem, Mousonturm, Frankfurt/Main 2003 Ain’t she sweet…? Zagreus Projekt, Berlin (S) 2002 Eva und der Teufel, Ausstellungsraum de Ligt, Frankfurt/Main (S) Tight skin, skin deep, Mafuji Gallery, London At Home with Freud, dont't miss, Frankfurt/Main (S) Raus!, OP31, Frankfurt/Main (S) Deutsches Eck, Galerie Vaclava Spaly, Prague Sequences, Kuvataideakatemian Galleria, Helsinki (video programme) 2001 Simon Spiekermann Gallery, Düsseldorf (S) Frankfurter Kreuz, Kunsthalle Schirn, Frankfurt/Main (Cat)
	Awards and Grants 2005 Artist’s Residency Program, Galerie Hermann & Wagner, Berlin Grant (studio) City of Budapest 2003 Laureate Frankfurter Verein für Künstlerhilfe e.V. Grant (studio) City of Salzburg 2002 Grant, Künstlerhaus Schloß Balmoral, Bad Ems 1997 British Council Study Award 1996 Grant, Sainsbury Centre for VIsual Art

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