Esben Weile Kjær
BURN!
04.06—04.06.21

Gallery Steinsland Berliner is very pleased to present and welcome you to BURN!, a performance by Danish artist Esben Weile Kjær. BURN! is a maxed out performance piece dealing with ideas concerning collective experiences, social sharing and decompression habits seen through recognizable settings rooted in entertainment and club culture.

Esben Weile Kjær’s practice spans sculpture, video and performance. His work draws on a background in music and brings up generational talking points (technology, mental health, use of media, nostalgia) in an exploration of the mechanisms we use to work, reward, activate and relax. The resulting work often references pop cultural phenomena and capitalist functions.
Weile Kjær’s performances are bombastically cathartic, channeling the energy behind both unchained dancing (raves) and hazardous altercations (riots).

BURN! sees elements from youth culture and everyday structures come together in a theatrical play of events. The fire fighter is present as a symbol of diverse implications where relief, order and fetishization can all be applied. This relationship between sincerity, necessity and objectification suggests a multi-dimensional view of our everyday reality where seemingly genuine actions are often fronts for deeper seated issues or straight up gains.

Esben Weile Kjær (b. 1992) lives and works in Copenhagen and Frankfurt. He has studied at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (Copenhagen, DK) and is currently studying fine arts at Städelschule (Frankfurt, DE). The performance piece BURN! was originally shown at SMK (the National Gallery of Denmark).