The work of Florian Borkenhagen (b. 1959) consciously blurs the interface between art and design as he challenges perceptions of everyday objects through his deconstruction and transformations. The banal found-object becomes an artwork and through its adaptation, a deeper meaning arises. His pieces often invite interaction and provide a new view on reality by reusing recognizable objects in conceptual and humorous ways. Movement is an important subject matter for Borkenhagen, both in the physicality of his kinetic sculptures but also in the journey itself. His designed carts, „SCV II“ (2009), „Rollator“ (2009) and „Thronfolger“ (2009) are more than just recycling of disused vehicles, they also open up in a playful interaction of mobility and a new work horizon. This is also evident in „Travel A-head“ (1998-2000), a three meter wooden sculpture of a head that Borkenhagen arranged to travel around the world on top of a container ship for two years. Borkenhagen remarked „I want to disturb the perception of the people and at the same time send an alter ego without weighing filter on trips.“

Since 1982 Borkenhagen’s work has been presented in numerous galleries and museums in Europe and in the United States. In 1987 he presented his work at documenta 8 in Kassel, Germany and afterward he completed projects in Rome, Paris and Hamburg. He lived and worked in Como, Italy from 1990 until 1995 where he founded the Laboratorio Como where he devoted himself the theme of industrial archaeology. In 1997 he was the co-initiator of the project „First Aid for Bad Art“ where he provided art fair attendees relief from bad art. In 2009 Borkenhagen had his first solo show „TransSakrales“ at ammann//gallery. Since that time Florian Borkenhagen’s work has constantly been presented in various group and fair exhibitions with the gallery. Under his artistic direction, Borkenhagen arranged a workshop titled Fund-Kunst-Stücke at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg in 2013.

In the tradition of the Arte Povera movement, Borkenhagen and the participants collected together garbage and transformed it into unique pieces of arts.

ammann//gallery has been working continuously with Florian Borkenhagen since 2009 and is showing his work in solo exhibitions in the gallery as well as at the most important fairs of design and art worldwide.