BERLIN.- Andreas Greiner has been awarded the GASAG Kunstpreis for 2016. The artist has created an exhibition entitled “Agentur des Exponenten” (Agency of the Exponent) for the first big hall in the Berlinische Galerie. Its themes are the exponential growth, identity and transformation of living creatures, including such very different beings as microorganisms and chickens bred for fattening.

Andreas Greiner (*1979) studied under Olafur Eliasson at Berlin’s University of the Arts and is a graduate of its Institute for Spatial Experiments, where he attended a master class. The Jury was impressed by his independent stance, which poses questions about the individual and the species and challenges the anthropocentric vision of our Western culture. In his work he addresses phenomena of the natural sciences and humanities, medicine, anatomy and music.

For his show at the Berlinische Galerie, Greiner has devised a three-part installation linking the various thematic strands in his work. At the centre is the skeleton of a broiler, a monumental celebration of the species made with a 3D printer. The sculpture Monument for 308 (2016) resembles the reconstruction of a winged dinosaur about to leap into the air or take flight. In his Study (Portrait) of the Singularity of the Animal, the second part of the exhibition, the artist considers creatures which are not normally perceived as individuals, such as algae, portrayed here singly with the aid of a scanning electron microscope. In the third section, Greiner combines a self-actuating grand piano (Disklavier) with film shots of the rhythmically throbbing skin of “firefly squids” (Watasenia scintillans). The videos were given as visual score to composer Tyler Friedman, who then derived musical interpretations.

GASAG Kunstpreis: In 2016 the art prize initiated by GASAG will be awarded for the fourth time in partnership with the Berlinische Galerie. Every two years, the partners take this opportunity to honour outstanding work at the interface between art, science and technology. The previous winners were: Susanne Kriemann (2010), Tue Greenfort (2012) and Nik Nowak (2014). The award includes an exhibition at the Berlinische Galerie and a catalogue (published by Kerber Verlag; museum edition € 19.80, book trade edition € 35).

Jury: Dr. Thomas Köhler and Dr. Stefanie Heckmann, Berlinische Galerie; Heike Mertens, Schering Stiftung, Berlin; Birgit Rieger, Tagesspiegel; Dr. Ursula Ströbele, Berlin University of the Arts, Institute of Art Theory and Aesthetics; Dr. Julia Wallner, Georg Kolbe Museum, Berlin.