Since Simon Sieradzki was a child, he has constantly been moving. He was born in Western Australia, spend most of his childhood in the US, moved back to Australia during his teenage years and finally settled in Perth, one of the most isolated cities in the world. 

Simon had always been drawn to Europe. After his first artist residency in Leipzig at LIA in 2017, he fell in love with Leipzig. He came back to participate in the “Internationales Sommeratelier in Aschersleben” this summer, and through different circumstances ended up at Pilotenkueche Round 49. Different senses of time and spaces therefore not only plot his biography, but also mark his art. This transcontinental moving has lead him to ask the question, “How can paintings deliver a sense of  movement?”, the topic he is focusing on for his PhD.

What Simon’s studio reveals

When we enter Simon’s studio here at Pilotenkueche we see canvases of different sizes leaning against the walls or hanging in a straight line next to one another. The paint tubes of the pastel colors are neatly lined up on a table. And we discover folded paper planes and dried flower arrangements in the double glazing windows. The space radiates a calmness and something else that I seem to not be able to put into words until now. In our interview, Simon explains to me, how he usually starts off his working process. He paints his studio space and the interior, hence his choice of natural colors. It is important to him that the painted observations, not merely document or copy the room, but reveal something else about the space – a mood, feeling or rhythm.

Getting stuck in Leipzig for a reason?

He started his residency at PK in October, which was a difficult time in Simon’s life. To him autumn has always been a transitional period,  every year, bringing out something new. He connects a specific feeling with this time of the year, when everything starts falling off the trees. The aesthetics of the dried flowers and the neatly folded paper planes in his windows are a good representation of his past months –  because he couldn’t return home. The situation of the Covid-19 pandemic literally caused Simon Sieradzki to be stuck in Leipzig, when the Australian government decided to cancel all flights. The uncertain circumstances made him reevaluate his whole life and lead to his participation in PILOTENKUECHE and settling in Leipzig permanently. 

photos by PILOTENKUECHE

At the summer artist residency in Aschersleben he was going in many directions artistically. Therefore Simon has decided it was time to bring the different practices together again. The cancellation of his flight was followed by a dream, which took him back to his childhood. He dreamt of his neighbors in South Carolina. In their house, as a child he once found a room filled with paper planes up to the ceiling.

Simon questions space accumulation

This very much influenced what Simon will present at our final show, Questioning Space Accumulation. He and his partner Janne Steinhardt, will surprise us with a performance, in which he draws attention to the temporality of paintings and reveals the process of making and creating. When we think of paintings, we often think of them in terms of space. Simon wants to challenge the static nature of paintings by bringing in the aspect of time. While we assume that a canvas restricts motion, it can bring out different type of movement.

To him, paintings carry the character of space and time, and we can feel it too. According to his research, rhythm needs features to appear and a space in which it can manifest itself. He therefore sees a sense of motion and rhythm in his paintings and hopes that we also  experience it.

written by Johanna Morgen

Find out more about Simon’s work on his website.

Warm Gestalt

PK and Friends/ Open Studio
Fri 5th Nov 7PM

PILOTENKUECHE
Franz-Flemming Str. 9
04179 Leipzig

PK at Lichtspiele des Westens

Sat 4 Dec
Karl Heine and Josephstr
Plagwitz, Leipzig

Questioning Space Accumulation

2G viewing by appointment only
Sunday 19 Dec and Monday 20 Dec
12 noon – 4PM

Alte Handelsschule
Giesserstr 75
04229 Leipzig