Anyone who, like Felix Kultau, experienced the world through American TV films as a child knows that winning types are athletes. And nothing has changed in this respect since. Manager-Magazin states that business leaders structure their sporting workload much as they structure the latest strategy program for their company: “Clear milestones, measurable target achievement. It just fits.”

Protein is used as a boost to performance in sport and is often measured out using a scaled portion cup. Felix Kultau repurposes these bulbous powder jars to create light objects. As glowing art objects they become energy sources of a different order – one in which measurability is irrelevant. What does it take to make good art? The answer has never had anything to do with quantity, number of repetitions, or duration.

Efficiency works differently in art. Felix Kultau has installed a ritual space that addresses our respective beliefs on efficiency, relaxation, and redemption. Kultau has converted a rack for barbells into an architectural element on which he installs his works. The gallery space thus becomes a temple of sorts, dedicated to our era of self-optimization – complete with incense sticks, the motif of the koi and the servile phrase “Come Again Soon”. A serving trolley bears the word “Zen”: Even tough, poorly paid service jobs are familiar with the enlightenment imperative.

In addition to the formal sculptural aspects of fitness and service furniture, the artist is interested in the artificial ageing processes with which things are upgraded or revalued. Shabby chic furniture, stone washed jeans – new products are given an artificial patina to simulate a history that never existed. Washed-out blue-grey tones characterize his current paintings, which also feature a painterly dental makeover: The used look for teeth. Once again, Felix Kultau casually reverses the trends. After all, flawless white teeth have been a hallmark of winning types since the early days of Hollywood and continue to be so in today’s executive boardrooms.

— Silke Hohmann