Fridge Art: When refrigerators become canvases

Occasionally you hear how artists, gallery owners, curators or critics try to define exactly what is to be understood under the term "fridge art" (in English: Fridge Art or Refrigerator Art ) - and where it should create her place, who should create who can discuss who can look at them and who can even print them on sneakers.

This topic is often accompanied by excitement and controversy; Allegations are raised, opinions are presented, positions represented and ultimately someone is drawn up.

Admittedly, this art form is a small niche. So you don't necessarily meet every day. Nevertheless, artists from the street art scene in particular have discovered this useful kitchen electro device as a canvas for their creative expression.

It does not necessarily have to be retro cooling cabinets in the Coca-Cola style from the 1950s that artfully experience a decorative upgrade, but also modern industrial refrigerators-like those of Mirai Intex Germany -can be transformed into real art objects with a little color and a few lively.

Global phenomenon "fridge art"

In recent years, fridge art has spread really globally, as can be seen in this piece from Tokyo. It is an extremely exciting topic that falls into a variety of confusing considerations.

In essence, the cheeky question is: what exactly is fridge art? And even more important: does she lose her character as a Fridge Art when it is presented in a gallery? If it was originally attached to the fridge, then brought to the gallery and hung on a nail, is it still fridge art?

An innovative Fridge Art project saved in Australia in 2021 and gave them new life in a creative and artistic way. The Fridge O-Doption Program, initiated by the independent bottle shop chain The Bottle-O , had recruited five street artists in the Corona year to beautify boring refrigerators with unique designs and transform them into works of art.

Australians often dispose of their old refrigerators on the side of the road, where they then end up on landfill. Sometimes you only need a little repair and some love ”,

At that time, the marketing manager Josh Gaudry told The Examiner . Charlton Maja from Launceston successfully took over the fridge with the name "Bubbles" and believed that the "large, groovy vibes" and the "color palette" of the fridge would fit perfectly with his home.

The program ran for six weeks. Interested Australians were able to apply for the takeover of one of ten original refrigerators.

Another fridge project series, which was launched Food for Soul , Grundig Thierry Noir . Each project included a unique refrigerator. These refrigerators not only played a functional role in the kitchens of the Refettorios and Social Tables; They were painted in graffiti style in order to honor the meaning and value of everyday objects and to emphasize the importance of art and aesthetics in the unveiling of hidden beauty.

Noir painted his own interpretation of what Food for Soul stands on every refrigerator, making it indispensable parts of a larger puzzle.

Thierry Noir, the artist born in France, had a groundbreaking idea when he was the first street artist to paint the Berlin Wall His cooperation with the Grundig electronics company came about in 2016. Together they supported the organization "Food for Soul" in their mission to create integrative spaces.

This became a reality by setting up a temporary studio in the historic East Side Gallery in Berlin. social inclusion over the years . They have created an environment that celebrates art and culture - and the whole thing began with a special view of an everyday commodity like the fridge.

Another impressive artist who discovered his love for Refrigerator Art is a young man from South Africa. Ennock Mlangeni (30) is an autodidactic visual artist who works with recycled materials to create his works of art and earn his livelihood.

Inspired by his own life experiences, Ennock is convinced that the existing resources should begin to realize your dreams. Originally born in the small rural village of Peter Steyn in the Free State (South Africa), he moved to Sasolburg after the death of his parents at the age of seven to live with his grandmother. Despite financial difficulties in his family and the support of his grandmother's pension, his belief in a promising future remained unshakable.

Although art is often considered a costly craft, Ennock emphasizes the importance of starting with the limited means that are available. He started with a simple pencil and still uses it to create fascinating works. Sometimes it requires even more creativity and the use of all available resources. Ennock also uses newspapers for his works of art - the idea came to him when he once spilled coffee over a drawing. Fascinated by the colors of the newspaper into which the coffee had moved into, he decided to create works of art from newspapers and coffee.

The artist emphasizes that the use of waste materials is not only cost -effective, but also contributes to improving the world by recycling. Inspired by its surroundings and his personal experiences, Ennock creates each of his works of art unique and only decides during the conception process which material is best suited for the respective piece.

This career fits that he has found a canvas for his art even in the everyday user fridge. Here is a small show from his work in recent years:

Refrigerator Creditity - an open debate

If you move in the street art scene, authenticity, credibility and relevance are high goods. It is about acceptance among like -minded people, street credibility .

If an artist now designs a template for the refrigerator and then uses the same stencil and spray can to create a piece on a canvas, the question arises: Is it still fridge art? When a museum or collector instructs a well-known refrigerator artist to create a new piece for an exhibition, this artist has come up with its origins and is now a jellout (derogatory name for unpopular people, dates from the 1980s)?

If the creatively edited refrigerator has been thrown away and waiting for collection from the garbage disposal on the sidewalk, is it then public art, transient art or temporary sculpture installation?

And what happens when the garbage truck drives into a large pothole and whirls the cold through the air to land on a dancer in her jersey that smokes on the sidewalk outside of teaching? Is that a refrigerator performance art?

Ok ... now it gets a little absurd.

Similar discussions are seriously conducted in the scene, which also shows a contribution by the online magazine Brooklynstreetart.com (BSA) . There, for example, Tad Tusnarky , a polling author of fridgorum.com and Senior Fellow am Wettbar Art Institute in Stamford, Connecticut, warns that opinions about fridge art impair appreciation without knowledge of the scene. He criticizes the dilution of respect through mainstream enthusiasm and demands more respect for the art scene.

Maytagger , a renowned street art artists from New York, refuses to see art as a fleeting trend. He emphasizes the importance of craftsmanship and originality and criticizes the superficiality of modern art practices. Maytagger's work is characterized by care and depth - a contrast to the fast pace of today's art scene, which he feels irrelevant.

Whatever you think of fridge art, it remains part of the urban art scene and continues to develop.