Verena Kyselka, Exterra XX, 1990-93, photo: Bernd Hiepe
Verena Kyselka
Exterra XX

Because she wasn’t allowed to go to university, Verena Kyselka (*1957, Germany) trained to become a church restorer in Erfurt in the late 1980s instead. During this time, she also created paintings, music and performances. After the GDR collapsed, she began working with installations and new media, moving to Weimar then Geneva to study art. She co-founded the Kunsthaus Erfurt in 1990. In the last few years, Kyselka’s art has increasingly focussed on recent history and its effects on identity by exploring special topics in several intercultural projects in countries such as Albania, Armenia, Taiwan and Australia.

artist's website: verena-kyselka.de

Verena Kyselka was a member of Exterra XX, which was a feminist performance group that lasted several years and emerged from the alternative art scene in the GDR in the early 1980s. In defiance of everyday life under socialism, the group lent individual dreams provocative artistic forms that were combinations of poetry, sounds, clothing, painting and movement. In the beginning, the actions were held in private homes or were shown as Super 8 films. Showings were occasionally prohibited, but as the GDR fell apart, performances became more and more frequent. Exterra XX’s performances touched on politically explosive themes relating to the collapse of the GDR and the ensuing search for a new identity, new values and a new direction. The group consisted primarily of Verena Kyselka, Monika Andres, Tely Büchner, Monique Förster, Gabriele Göbel, Ina Heyner, Angelika Hummel, Birgit Quehl and Gabriele Stötzer. It disbanded in 1994.

Courtesy Verena Kyselka

Document media
Video, colour, sound, 13:07 min

Issue date
1990-1993

Relations
Gabriele Stötzer (STÖ 1)

Tags
collectivity, fashion/glamour, femininity, masquerade, music, pleasure