›Comfy with Sonic Speed‹
Lachenmann Art Gallery presents with its group exhibition ›Comfy with Sonic Speed‹ a great selection of 20 strong artistic positions. The exhibition title highlights the duality and tension in the artist´s lives, which space between the search of a "comfy" and quiet artistic production zone and a "sonic speed" way of living. We question the motivations that drive those artists, whose visual productions meet us directly in the gallery space, what allow us to look at them without withdrawing and to always find a meaning within them. What are the inner motivations that give rise to the very works that are specific and characteristic of one particular artist? The comfort zone in which artists pause, retreat and draw new ideas is in direct contrast to their turbulent life. Comparable to the impetuosity of the sonic speed are the production of new works, the planning of exhibitions, the constant maintaining of connections and networking. This proves to be just as important as the attempt to always stay up to date, to feel the pulse of time and to react directly to it as a contemporary artist.
Most artists have to reconcile these contrasting models of life and locate themselves within these gradients. Different behaviours can be observed here: some of the artists embrace and need a fast, breathless pace as the driving force for their work, while others consciously withdraw themselves from the dynamic art scene and proceed in deliberate and more reflexive steps.
With this exhibition we would like to explore to which extent the tension between these two extremes is inscribed in the works of art presented and how this can be observed in the artist´s works.
Deniz Alt, *1978 Aschaffenburg
Deniz Alt lives and works in Frankfurt am Main and studied at the renowned Städelschule. In his works, he highlights the actuality of history and a subjective coming to terms with the past and this develops tensions, influences the artist's work and determins the intensity of the themes. Both the paintings and the installations by Deniz Alt depict deep emotions, the processing of personal feelings and the confrontation of human existence with moments of suffering or death. The artist's interest in the architecture of the past, as well as that of the future, is inscribed here. The human figure finds repeatedly its way into his pictorial world and is in direct juxtaposition to the architectural elements.
Tilo Baumgärtel, *1972 Leipzig
Tilo Baumgärtel, a master student of Arno Rinck, studied at the Academy of Graphic Arts and Printing in Leipzig and his paintings transport us to an imaginary alien world. Space and figures play together, catapulting us into a dreamlike scenery, to enchanted places and bringing forward a confrontation with the unknown. His works are always determined by the composition, which the artist places at the border between the possible and the impossible. His works are rationally constructed stage sets in which nature, landscape and living beings are in direct exchange.
Patrick Cierpka, *1967 Giengen
The artist studied with Karl Horst Hödicke at the University of Arts and excelled as a master student in the painting class. Today he lives and works in Berlin. In his sensitive works, Patrick Cierpka plays with light and shadow, sets faceted colours against a radiant white. One could get the impression that Patrick Cierpka's works are like the open lens of a camera, catching an enormous amount of light. Sunshine and colour play together, appearing on water-like surfaces, penetrating through the branches of trees. No up or down can be discerned and the viewer is invited to immerse himself in an experience far removed from space and time: time seems to stand still, space does not exist. ´It is summer. I am lying on a meadow, a forest opening next to me. Then I open my eyes only very briefly - just a crack - and it is precisely this moment that fascinates me. That's what I want to depict in my works,' says Patrick Cierpka.
Lennart Grau, *1981 Krefeld
The Berlin artist studied fine arts with Prof. Leiko Ikemura and finished his studies as a master student. His colourful worlds appear almost like a sculptural relief through the thick application of paint, which comes into an exciting contrast with the light-hearted motifs, repeatedly borrowed from the lightness of the Rococo. The aesthetics of the past are here transferred into a contemporary context. In the game between figure and abstraction, Lennart Grau allows classical pictorial themes to emerge in the form of progressive painting - a contemporary interpretation expressed with a touch of decadence.
Nicola Grabiele, *1965 Winterthur
The Swiss artist dedicates his work to colour field painting, which is particularly striking in the works shown here because of its reduction of colour. The materiality of the paints plays an important role here. Gabriele's artistic process is characterized by a repeated application and removal of this material, whereby the artist's hand and its characteristic ductus remain in each work. Desire and trust are captured on canvas through the interplay and intensity of his colour choices - creating timeless windows that witness his artistic exploration of his own biography and cultural memories.
Alexander Iskin, *1990 Moscow
The Berlin-based artist and former assistant to Jonathan Meese and Herbert Volkmann not only works as a painter, but also uses sculptures, literature and performative arts as forms of expression. With his specially developed art form of interrealism, Alexander Iskin unites the relationship between digital and analog processes. The notions of reality are to be transcended and its perception opened up by allowing even the smallest particles to function as constitutive moments of an all-encompassing information network. The artist is always on the lookout for external influences that help to shape his work, surrendering to the need to transform and change views while transcending linear narratives and reaching fantastical, colourful visual worlds. The traditional medium of oil paint offers him endless possibilities of artistic expression.
Marc Jung, *1985 Erfurt
The master student of Prof. Wolfram Adalbert Scheffler works on his striking canvases in Berlin and Erfurt. Again and again, he refers to contemporary pop culture, both with his subjects and with their titles. In doing so, he makes use of multi-layered materials with which he brings out the figurative moments in an energetic style. He is not guided by abstract constructs or artificial attempts to explain the world. He creates new pictorial worlds, quoting the great masters of art history, and always remaining committed to the ideals of art history in the structure of his works. It is through his own visual language, the use of modern stylistic devices and symbolism, that makes this democratisation of art and its reception possible. Marc Jung's career bears witness to the seriousness of his work from the very first moment of his artistic activity.
Katrin Kampmann, *1979 Bonn
The artist Katrin Kampmann, who works in Berlin, transports us with her flamboyant works into a dreamlike world of flowing colours. She studied at the University of Arts in Berlin and was a master student of Prof. K.H. Hödicke in 2006. She describes herself as an artist who totally immerges herself in the studio during intensive creative phases and forgets the big city around her. The colours are always the theme of her pictorial worlds, their vibration and their sound qualities. Here she consciously plays with the role of the viewer, whose eyes wander over the paintings and creates very individual patterns of movement. "I look for a motif, take it and hold on to it," is how Katrin Kampmann describes her artistic process.
Franziska Klotz, *1979 Dresden
The artist lives and works in Berlin, where she was a master student of Prof. Werner Liebmann at the Berlin-Weißensee School of Art. The artist's imaginative world is characterised by her interest in the “zeitgeist”, the spirit of the world. Franziska Klotz consciously uses her position as a painter to deal with the disruption of traditions in her visual works, repeatedly creating direct references between contemporary disturbances and past convention. Franziska Klotz plays with sometimes enigmatic subjects that captivate the viewers, arouse our curiosity and tell stories that only reveal their depth on closer examination. Franziska Klotz invests her soul, her heart and all her energy in the painting process.
Florian Lechner, *1981 Burghausen
Florian Lechner lives and works in Munich, where he also studied sculpture with Hans Op de Beek and Hermann Pitz and graduated as a master student. Clear lines, simple elegance and a reduction of colour characterise his initially sober-looking works. Here, the classical limitations of painting are overcome and the space is taken over by the accurate shapes. Florian Lechner's oeuvre captivates with its clear lines, its simple black and white elegance and a straightforward opulent reduction. The first impression of his works is usually deceptive: what at first appears sober and neutral, Lechner subverts with subtle means. His objects know how to free themselves from the limitations of classical painting art and conquer the room. Lechner detaches the artwork from its physical existence, shifts it into the ephemeral and juggles with the viewer's perception. Florian Lechner lives and works in Munich.
David Lehmann, *1987 Luckau
The artist completed his studies in Fine Arts at the University of Arts in Berlin. In 2014 he was a master student with Valerie Favre, today he lives and works in Cottbus. In his works, David Lehmann skillfully plays with content-related and technical possibilities. This narrow tightrope walk between the two extremes can be observed within his pictorial worlds all the times: Wit is juxtaposed to deep seriousness, colour is played off against form on the canvas, while figuration becomes existent alongside subtle abstraction. Furthermore, the artist makes use of the exciting interweaving of past and future by incorporating art-historical references juxtaposed with contemporary historical subjects. In the process, his artistic alter ego also takes shape within the canvas works.
Justine Otto, *1974 Zabrze, Poland
The artist Justine Otto, who is represented in renowned museums and collections, studied at the Städelschule in Frankfurt with Prof. Michael Krebber. In search of the material dissolution of an envisioned inner image, she creates new figurative worlds on canvas. In her figurative-abstract works she shows a new approach to the surface and its painted materiality. The artist's scenic subjects tell stories that are explosively captured on canvas in a world of colour and form. Justine Otto creates an unrelenting reality that strikes a nerve in our present full of uncertainty and hope.
Jirka Pfahl, *1976 Wurzen
The artist lives and works in Leipzig, where he studied with Prof. Helmut Mark at the Academy of Visual Arts, among others. On closer inspection, the clearly structured objects prove to be accurately folded paper works, which reveal novel patterns in their alternation between protruding and receding elements. The underlying mathematical principle of the works unfolds an austere beauty. The use of different working techniques and the transfer of these concepts into digital forms show the artist's artistic range as well as his ability to change. In every art form, no matter how differently chosen, Jirka Pfahl manages to captivate and inspire the viewer.
Angelika Platen, *1942 Heidelberg
Angelika Platen, the artist portraitist, studied photography at the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg and worked for many years as a photographer and photo journalist. During her time at the "Galerie an der Milchstraße", she portrayed numerous young artists in their artistic, creative contexts, who can now look back on successful careers. Among those portrayed are Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, Andy Warhol and Neo Rauch. Today, their photographs can be seen in numerous institutional collections. Several retrospectives have already been dedicated to the artist, who lives in Berlin and southern France, underlining her importance as an outstanding documentarist of the art scene.
Römer + Römer, Nina Römer *1978 Moscow, Torsten Römer *1968 Aachen
Nina and Torsten Römer have formed the artist duo Römer + Römer since 1998 and both studied with Prof. A.R. Penck in Düsseldorf. Sources of inspiration for their pointillist works are photographs of lived together journeys. Festivals and places abroad are brought onto the canvases in a meticulous and collaborative way and unfold an impressive power, especially in the large formats. The process of stepping back and forward in front of their works plays a significant role in the viewing. While the scenes shown, when viewed from a distance, reveal themselves as clearly delineated moments that seem almost photorealistic, when viewed up close prove to be masterpieces of pointillist painting. Every moment in which the brush touches the canvas is carefully placed and manifests itself in coexistence with other traces of paint to form a firmly delineated shape.
Sandra Schlipkoeter, *1979 Solingen
Sandra Schlipkoeter bases her works on a physical phenomenon which she isolates from the space of the invisible and transfers it into a visible context. Interferences are superimpositions of waves in the optical space that create complex line patterns and are made visible on the computer screen by means of a digital photograph. Wave-like lines seem to manifest themselves on the screen in undefinable rhythms.
Anna Tatarczyk, *1973 Wodzisław Śląski, Poland
Anna Tatarczyk studied fine arts with A.R. Penck and Siegfried Anzinger at the Art Academy in Dusseldorf, and had also been for two years an assistant to Jörg Immendorff. She now lives and works in Wuppertal. In her oeuvre, the choice to use a rhombus as a geometric form occupies a special position. She lets these figures dance on the top of the canvas and captures the light with them. Her work stands for the continuation of Concrete Art, can be located between this artistic wave and Op Art, as well as between Minimalism and Arte Povera. In addition to accurate lines, the subtlety of the fine nuances of colours plays an important role for the artist, which she brings to the canvas in a meditative manner.
Lars Teichmann, *1980 Burgstädt
The artist, who lives in Berlin, studied among others under Daniel Richter at the University of Arts in Berlin, and is distinguished by his repeated reappraisal of art-historical references, which he effectively transfers in his works into contemporary contexts. Painting processes remain clearly recognisable on the canvases and blend into the representation of their objects. This creates an exciting interplay between figuration and artistic trace. Known for his faceless paintings, full of magical attraction, and through new and reduced compositions, his works awaken memories and associations as well as the desire for the old and the longin for something new. Art history is quoted.
Miriam Vlaming, *1971 Düsseldorf
Miriam Vlaming studied with Prof. Arno Rink at the Academy of Graphic Arts and Printing in Leipzig. She lives and works in Berlin. In her mysterious pictorial worlds, she directs the juxtaposition of people and nature, whereby a constant oscillation between abstraction and figuration sends the viewer on a journey of discovery. By using smooth layers of paint alternated to thick brushstrokes, the artist proves herself to be an accomplished master of colour. With the help of ambiguous metaphors, the artist makes her way into a world full of enigmas, for which it is necessary to create a story that talks both to the artist and the recipients. Unresolved questions can be conjected and the familiar and existential are brought into focus.
Danil Yordanov, *1972 Balchik, Bulgaria
Danil Yordanov studied painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria, graduating with a Master's degree in 1997. The artist, who now lives in Kaiserslautern, creates abstract, monochrome works with graphite, which are characterised by a radical reduction. Yordanov exploits the fine nuances between black and white, allowing the material to become the essential moment of the work and this way creating the monumental effect of the objects. The powerful and calm surfaces, which at first appear even, take on a dense depth when viewed for a longer time. Unevenness and scar-like lines suggest traces of use and time. Achromatic tonality pairs with the texture of the surface and evokes an almost industrial character. From them emerges a timeless dynamic.