Layer Cake – The Versus Project

Friday 29.03.2024

July 04 – December 31, 2021

Opening: Saturday, July 03, 2021, from 3 PM

Project space of the URBAN NATION Museum, Bülowstrasse 97, 10783 Berlin

In the group exhibition The Versus Project, curators Patrick Hartl and Christian Hundertmark (C100) bring together thirteen artistic positions in an unusual way. The works on display literally cross borders and at the same time break one of the most important rules of graffiti.

This summer, the project space of the URBAN NATION Museum at Bülowstraße 97 presents the exhibition The Versus Project. The name speaks for itself: all the canvases on display were created in collaboration, namely by Hartl and Hundertmark in the form of the duo Layer Cake VERSUS the artists invited to the project.

Layer Cakes VERSUS Chaz Bojorquez. Photo: Christina Bojorquez

Getting creative together

In their studio in Munich, Layer Cake began working on the canvases, which they then sent unfinished to the thirteen artists scattered around the world. They on the other hand completed the paintings without discussing the details of the work with Hartl and Hundertmark back in Bavaria. One of the most important rules of graffiti was thus turned on its head: Never paint over the pictures of other writers (“no crossing” / “not going over”).

In some cases this process was repeated several times, occasionally the development could take up to two years. In this creative, non-verbal dialogue, painterly mosaics of different ideas, styles and working methods were thus created in an associative manner. While the paintings crossed national borders and oceans, the artists were confronted with their own inner boundaries:

“After six years of working together as Layer Cake, we didn’t even realize how much you can lure artists out of their own comfort zone with such an uncompromising teamwork. For us, this kind of collaborative effort feels normal now, but for some of the guest artists it was almost a challenging experience of their own limitations.”

Layer Cake
Layer Cake, Work in Progress

Unity in variety

The Versus Project is an artistic experiment in communication, challenging dialogue, the struggle for a final form. The conceptual collaboration required a high degree of trust and willingness to let go in order to engage with approaches other than one’s own.

The result of this collective endeavor is presented in the exhibition. Despite different artistic visual languages, themes, and ways of working, the images are united by a common gesture, conveying connections and parallels among them. The Versus Project is thus also a manifestation of friendship and relationships within its own network.

Participating artists

Layer Cake (Patrick Hartl und Christian Hundertmark aka C100), Chaz Bojorquez (Los Angeles / US), Mick La Rock / Aileen Middel (Amsterdam / NL), Sebastian Wandl (München / DE), Dave the Chimp (Berlin / DE), Bisco Smith (New York / US), Vincent Abadie Hafez (Zepha) (Toulouse / FR), Formula 76 (Hamburg / DE), Usugrow (Tokio / JP), Bust (Basel / CH), Jake (Amsterdam / NL), Egs (Helsinki / FI), Imaone (Tokio / JP) und Flavien (Apt / FR).

Layer Cake – The Versus Project

July 04 to December 31, 2021
Curated by Patrick Hartl and Christian Hundertmark

Vernissage
July 03, 2021, from 3 PM
Project space of the URBAN NATION Museum
Bülowstrasse 97, 10783 Berlin

Opening hours of the exhibition
Tue, Wed        10 AM – 6 PM
Thu – Sun       12 – 8 PM