The artistic practice of Till Velten (b. 1961 in Wuppertal, lives and works in Zürich and Berlin) has concentrated since 2001 on conversation as a central element. He uses conversation as a tool with which to understand the multifaceted ways that different people experience the world in order to reflect on social structures within society.
In his newest location-based project Pulver (En.: Powder) for the gallery Kunstraum Baden, Till Velten traces the footsteps of the “visionary” Emma Kunz (1892–1963), bringing her into a dialogue with the “visionary” history of the Baden company Merker – the company on whose former grounds Kunstraum Baden now stands. In doing so, Till Velten also asks himself a question that has long interested him: Is it possible to transform an artistic vision in some way into an entrepreneurship?
A publication illustrated with a number of playful sketches by Till Velten is being released in connection with the exhibition. In the form of a fold-out chronicle, the book has the character of an object and at the same time documents the year-long research work that preceded the Pulver project. The publication has an accompanying booklet with conversations between Till Velten and Sabine Bellefeuille-Burri, Peter Burri, Sibylle Hausammann-Merker, Thomas Lütolft, Marcel Megerle and Anita Merker.
