hold on (2023)
Kahlen’s video miniature “hold on” (2023, 1 min, silent) presents the artist himself, holding on to what is “(in)tangible”: to particles of matter exploding from his hand, to the reflecting surface of water, to ephemeral moments in time, and to the changeable nature of his interaction with the material world. A difficult quest: thrillingly alive, intimate in scale and failing at large.
Kahlen lives, lectures and works in Berlin, Germany.
Sound sculptor and media artist Timo Kahlen (* 1966 in Berlin) chooses to work with the ephemeral: with wind and steam, with light and shade, with pixels and dust, with sound, noise and vibration. His interdisciplinary and intermedia work is characterized by its “temporary and changeable nature”. It has been shortlisted for various scholarships and residencies, and was presented in 250 exhibitions of contemporary media art since the mid-1980s: including invitations to “Back into the Future of Photography” (Frankfurt 2016), “Sound Art: Sound as a Medium of Art” (ZKM Karlsruhe 2012), “MANIFESTA 7: Scenarios” (Italy 2008), and his solo exhibition “Timo Kahlen: Works with Wind”, inaugurating the KUNST-WERKE Berlin in 1991.