The compositions of Sonnenzimmer (the creative duo of Nick Butcher and Nadine Nakanishi) fall in orchestrated collapse. Each poster has seemingly disparate parts — raw brushwork, digital and analog glitch, clean text. Manipulated photograph. Each painted dab and seemingly erratic mark is brought together in a beautifully balanced print that shows the fingerprints of its makers and the process used for its creation. Butcher and Nakanishi work in the harmony of the abstract, building weight and tension by any means necessary.
To grasp the headspace of Sonnenzimmer one needs to only see their poster for the 20th anniversary of the independent record label Thrill Jockey, where they crafted a poster that is as visually adventurous, experimental, and unsuspected as the music released and nurtured by the label. There is no exposition behind their posters, they do not tell you exactly how to feel or how to react to their work, or even why it exists. It’s just there. Bare and raw in chance and exploration. Sonnenzimmer makes things — bold things, subtle things, fragile things. Inspired things.
The Arts Club Of Chicago poster by Sonnenzimmer
A Hawk And A Hacksaw and Damon Naomi gig poster by Sonnenzimmer
Bad At Sports gig poster by Sonnenzimmer
“In Search Of Gerrit De Veer” by Sonnenzimmer
Printer’s Ball poster by Sonnenzimmer
Thrill Jockey 20th Anniversary poster by Sonnenzimmer
Tim Hecker gig poster by Sonnenzimmer
