Charmoli Ciarmoli is pleased to present a solo exhibition of the very prolific artist Rainer Ganahl. This will be his 17th solo exhibition in New York City and focuses on the geo-political blur of our presence since the artists claims that all economic and political shocks of our times have also crossed his personal life in many, like many in the current state of the world causing strife. Coming off the inclusion of three large-scale paintings in 2020 at MoMa Ps1, this body of paintings is a continuation of works that encapsulate historical major world events involving war, international intrigue and climate change coupled with affects of the artist’s intimate personal life.

Ganahl is a a German speaking immigrant to New York City and has been spending a lot of his times in international class rooms and court rooms to litigate for his rights to free speech, to publish and educate his children, to exist and enjoy the fruit of his work that started with poetry and has extend since into many media including fashion to surpass all descriptions of what once was called conceptual art. Trained as a philosopher, linguist, psychologist, media critic, historian and artist with a special sensibility towards race, gender, anti-semitism and discrimination.

As an internationalist Ganahl has shown this year already in a prominent major institution in Munich, the Villa Stuck with books and paper works that reflected his avid interest in News, political failures, covid insanities, economic disasters and fundamental injustices as well a other calamities in our world he wants to “recycle” pleading for sustainability.

The irony of this show is also expressed in the location of the gallery, which is located in a corporate building that itself transferred hands due to massive erosions of financial markets at the beginning around the time Charmoli Ciarmoli opened in the spring of 2023. During the opening of our objects and canvas concentrated show, the artist will present also an avatar who will feature one of his COMMEDESMARXISTS dresses that in this case is a wearable silhouette the artist executed with a special face design reminiscent of his Austrian heritage of Viennese Actionism - (Rudolf Schwarzkogler - one of the most extreme Viennese actionist and anti-fascist at the time) facilitated, presented by the make up designer Alice Lane. The British model and her performance will reconnect the artist with his one-person show at the LONDON COLLEGE OF FASHION that honored Ganahl in London with a significant presence in 2018 2019 and a CENTRO PEZZI MUSEUM FASHION SHOW. Given Ganahl’s impactful negative personal history with NAZIISM during his childhood - his father barely survived World War II as a Stuca dive bomber Pilot - he became a committed pacifist an dived into literature and social critique. Concerning family history, it is remarkable that his grand mother was a tailor who dressed famous but scrupulous celebrities in the middle part of the last century like the Shah of Persia before he was overthrown, a conflict that still keeps lurking on. All this played a role when visiting Tehran where Ganahl risked imprisonment on his last trip as a professor of fine art due to his US citizenship. Subsequently and not unrelated to his political critique of a nascent, anti-immigrant, neo-naziism embracing Europe including in Germany, he was fired as a professor of fine art due to the consequences of his involuntary mental commitment that resulted in his termination of his tenure.

The artist and his object oriented signaling is rooted in Neo Realism and its specific forms of artistic transgressions that lead back to Ganahl’s obsession with learning and writing. His series “I wanna be Chinese” is reflected in a range of small paintings are if tailored to smaller budgets and a concession to is special penchant for Karl Marx in who’s analysis he sees a doctrine for justice fundamentally rejecting any totalitarian collectivism. Fluent in nearly a dozen languages this show includes quite many aspects of his mandarin studies which the artist has been engaged in since he represented Austria in the Viennese Biennial in 1999. Albeit of the fact that he still photographs and visits class rooms - he was part of Robert Storr’s Venice Biennial with photographs of his seminar/lectures series - see his one person show at the Columbia Art Museum called Wallach gallery and a video show him engaged as a pertinent language learner.

Ganahl (b.1961) New York-based artist who has been shown and collected internationally, including at the Venice Biennial (1999, 2007, 2009) and at the Shanghai, Athens, Sevilla and Gwangju Biennials. He has had solo gallery exhibitions at Kai Matsumiya, New York (2017, 2016, 2015), Barbara Weiss, Berlin (2017), Alex Zachary, New York (2010), Paul Pettro, Toronto, (2000, 2004, 2008, 2018), Levy Delval, Brussels (2009, 2010, 2013) among others. Earlier solo gallery shows include those at Massimo de Carlo, Milan, Blum and Poe, L.A., Philomene Magers, Cologne, Nordanstad-Skarstedt, New York , Ghislain Mollet-Viéville, Paris, Galerie Roger Pailhas, Marseille, Max Protetch, New York, Galerie Nächst St. Stephan and others. He has held institutional solo shows at the Dallas Museum of Art, Person's Weekend Museum, Tokyo, White Columns, New York, Wallach Gallery at Columbia University, New York, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Museum of Modern Art, Vienna, MAK Vienna, and the Fashion Space Gallery, University of the Arts London.