By Brittany Knupper
Philippe Hoerle-Guggenheim did not take the traditional route to the art world, yet he was born into it. Growing up in Bonn, Germany, his home was a revolving door of creativity.
“My love for art was passed on to me by my grandmother and my mother,” Hoerle-Guggenheim recalls. “Both avid collectors, they instilled in me great admiration for the old masters and the new. From Klimt to Dubuffet. Our house was always open to artists.”
Despite an initial career in finance, the pull of his aesthetic compass was too strong. In 2014, he launched HG Contemporary, a gallery dedicated to exploring the audacity of social interactions, digital technology, and pop culture.
A Mission of “Renewal and Audacity”
HG Contemporary, with locations spanning from Chelsea and Brooklyn to Madrid and Napa Valley, is committed to exhibiting artists whose backgrounds are as unique as they are relevant.
Hoerle-Guggenheim’s vision creates a distinct tension within the gallery walls. His opening exhibitions have juxtaposed contemporary talents like RETNA and Natvar Bhavsar alongside legendary pop art icons like Warhol, Dali, and John Lennon. The goal is clear: to produce exceptional art exhibitions that understand visual culture’s function both within and beyond the gallery.
Highlights: Tension, Street Art, and Immersion
The gallery is known for pushing boundaries. In the Brooklyn exhibition “Living Confection,” Hoerle-Guggenheim explored the temporary nature of beauty. By bringing in street artists to paint murals alongside sculptors like CÉVÉ (known for large, gummy-bear-esque teddy bears), he examined how we consume art—comparing the temporary nature of street art to candies and pastries.
Perhaps the most visceral example of the gallery’s commitment to immersive performance art was Franz Klainsek’s “Presence” and “Rebirth.”
- The Installation: The basement floor was covered with vertical, upside-down nails.
- The Process: Klainsek spent days balancing gold nails on their base, deprived of sleep and food.
- The Meaning: As the artist strikes copper with an axe, the work emerges from destruction. It is a full commitment to the present moment, transcending the plane into a living object.
Honoring History: The Dan Eldon Journals
HG Contemporary also dedicates space to profound historical narrative. A prominent show featured the works and journals of Dan Eldon, one of the youngest war photojournalists who was tragically killed in Somalia at age 22.
The gallery displayed Eldon’s multi-layered collages, which blend photographic reality with the transient ephemera of everyday life. Much like early 20th-century artists Hannah Höch and John Heartfield, Eldon’s work sought to find equilibrium within the madness of war-torn Africa.
Copper hammerings lined the walls, suggesting shapes struggling to emerge from beneath the surface. Klainsek’s work draws from natural forces, exploring creation through destruction and the cycle of death and rebirth. Each strike of the axe transformed the copper plane, revealing raw cuts and emphasizing simplicity, openness, and transformation. The exhibition remained on view until November 11, 2018.
Another prominent exhibition at the Chelsea gallery focused on the work and journals of Dan Eldon, one of the youngest war photojournalists in history. Eldon traveled to Africa as a teenager and was tragically killed at the age of twenty-two. The exhibition presented his photographs and journals, which he transformed into multimedia collages. These layered works blended documentary imagery with personal ephemera, revealing Eldon’s perspective on conflict, identity, and experience. His approach recalled early twentieth-century photo collage artists such as Hannah Höch and John Heartfield, while seeking balance within chaos.
At the time of publication, HG Contemporary featured several exhibitions, including Franz Klainsek: Rebirth in Brooklyn, a solo exhibition by CÉVÉ opening in Chelsea on October 10, and a November photography exhibition titled Depicting the Invisible in honor of Veterans Day. The latter showcased portraits by Susan Barron highlighting veterans affected by PTSD, with proceeds supporting related nonprofit organizations.
Collections and exhibition information are available at hgcontemporary.com.
