Peles Empire

Cell Project Space presents a newly commissioned work by the artist duo Peles Empire. Using the Armory room of a 19th Century Romanian Castle as a starting point for the exhibition’s construct, the artists have created 3D interpretations using original photographic documentation they made of the castle’s interior and artifacts. Reproducing these into two-dimensional renderings this complex process of evolution transcends collage or deconstruction by combining print and ceramics to present a dissemination of the artists’ imaginary.

Founded in 2005 Peles Empire is a collaborative work by Katharina Stoever and Barbara Wolff. The project borrows its name from the Romanian castle Peles, built between 1893 and 1913 at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains, The rooms of the existing castle copy a range of past architectural styles, combining Art Deco, Orientalism, Renaissance and Rococo. The creators of Peles opposed any current design trend by establishing an almost ironic representation of the ‘ideal’ castle. Stoever and Wolff have reproduced over ten rooms of the castle since the project began and have collaborated with a range of artists.

They merge their built environments with modes of living by amalgamating architectural motifs of the past and setting them against their collaborations with artists of the present. Space is expanded by utilising contemporary trompe-l'œil techniques by applying A3 colour or black and white photo copies - their methods simplified by cutting and pasting modern reprographic print to create a shimmering and physical, digital pastiche.

Peles Empire has based itself in Frankfurt, Los Angeles and London and has organized over 30 exhibitions within these spaces. The project now consists of two exhibition spaces in London and Cluj. In 2012 they were included in ‘entrance, entrance’, curated by Isobel Harbison, Temple Bar, Dublin, ‘Young London’, V22, and ‘Bold Tendencies’, London.

In 2011 they were selected for Frieze Projects ’ at the Frieze Art Fair, London with previous exhibitions in 2009 including ‘Men’, ORTON. nl, Rotterdam; and ‘The Big Armory,’ Maes & Matthys Gallery, Antwerp. In 2007 they were invited by MAK Center for Art & Architecture at the Schindler House, Los Angeles to exhibit in ‘The Mystery of Life’. In March 2013 the artists will have a solo exhibition at Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Germany , and a solo exhibition in May 2013 at GSS, Glasgow.