Eventful months lie behind me. On 27 February, Vitus Thanner and I opened our exhibition ‘Zerklüftet & zerrissen’ (Cratered & torn) at the Nebbiensches Gartenhaus in Frankfurt. While the visitors only saw the result, I would like to offer a little insight behind the scenes, which perhaps gives an idea of how much time and effort went into the works and the preparation. The result is a kind of logbook of important moments. And because there are so many, I'm dividing it into two parts.
PART 1 –
From the first brushstroke to hanging the exhibition
Wed, 28 August 2024, in the evening
I still had these canvas boards that I had already worked on, but I didn't like the result. So I just thought: Oh, I'll go over it with paint and my new tools. And I was blown away! The colour traces of these serrated plastic spatulas look so different to anything I can apply with a brush. I wonder what the meaning is – and see flickering screens. Can I make more out of it?
Wed, 16 October 2024, in the morning
The sketchbook is filling up with more and more ideas and thoughts on the subject. On a train I've just drawn another passenger who was deep in his smartphone. I'm bubbling over inside. There's so much that I perceive and want to express.
Sun, 27 October 2024, in the afternoon
I've just sent off my application for an exhibition at the Nebbiensches Gartenhaus, for the second time. As a member of the Frankfurt Artists' Club, you have the chance to apply once a year – last year I was rejected. As I can't fill the space with just one series of paintings, I've tried to combine several picture series in my new concept. Now I can only hope that my more recent pictures and the new approach will be better received. It's a good thing that I finished the first figurative picture in the new series beforehand: ‘Connected’. After much deliberation, I decided not to elaborate on the two figures in the picture, but to set them against the overflowing social media/news/online world as a fading reality.
Fri, 29 November 2024, in the afternoon
‘This boy stands on the edge with nothing in his hand / Without fear in his eyes, with his back to the wall’ (loose translation) I hear the lyrics of a (German) song echoing inside me, while what I see in front of me is the complete opposite. I'm standing in a railway station and see a boy, but his back is turned to the world, which he is blocking out as he leans against a wall with his head and smartphone, somewhere else entirely, everywhere but here. I won't be able to get rid of this image for days. I have to paint this.
Sat, 30 November 2024, late in the evening
The waiting is over. We were told we'd be informed by the end of November and I'd been really excited for days. Now the email has finally arrived and it's positive: I'm allowed to exhibit! It says there were 53 applications and 16 exhibition dates, and I'm being offered a double exhibition together with Vitus Thanner (who I don't know yet). And it's already in February. Holy shit! How am I supposed to manage that at such short notice? Especially as we're supposed to submit a joint concept for it very soon, with pictures, for the annual programme. The thought makes me dizzy. At the same time, it's incredibly comforting to know that I've obviously developed artistically and that the external jury of art historians and gallery owners has chosen me this time.
Sun, 08 December 2024, in the morning
Sitting opposite me is Vitus, who tells me that he is studying design and has a background in occupational therapy. We met for a coffee, hit it off straight away and I can well imagine that we could manage this project together. We talk about our exhibition text and how we could combine our two ideas. Vitus' works are abstract; he works on insulating materials with chemicals and sprays them in bright colours. In his concept, he compared them to planetary surfaces. My plan is to concentrate entirely on my current series of paintings called ‘HaBits’ and to finish them before the exhibition. I hope that it will look more consistent if we only combine two themes and not five. We decide that the common denominator should be technology – that which serves us, but also that which harms us.
Wed, 29 January 2025, evening
I've just finished reading the book ‘The Shallows – What the internet is doing to our brains" by Nicholas Carr. It's the third in my research after ‘Hooked’ by Nir Eyal and ‘Digital Minimalism’ by Cal Newport. I like to know what I'm talking about, even if my language is painted pictures. I learned why digital multitasking damages our focus and memory, how social media companies optimise their software based on gambling mechanisms and what strategies can be used to combat this. I find it fascinating that much of what I read seems to already be in my pictures.
Sun, 02 February 2025, evening
My studio is filling up with finished and almost finished paintings. I am in good spirits. I know exactly what still needs to be done with the unfinished motifs. And even my problem child, the painting ‘Mirror, mirror on the wall’, is finally finished. It's on an 80x80cm canvas on which the motif I started first just wouldn't work. At some point I decided to paint over it. I'm very happy with the decision, because the traces of the painting underneath actually make a positive contribution to the current motif. I'm about to photograph it together with ‘Connected’ to order small prints. I want to test whether something like this sells at the exhibition.
Sat, 22 February 2025, evening
Today was by far the low point of my exhibition preparation. As befits a professional, I wanted to coat my finished pictures with a UV varnish to protect them from scratches and sunlight. The semi-gloss varnish also gives the pictures a slight shimmer and makes the colours look even more vibrant. So far, I've always been annoyed that I can't manage to get this process dust-free, and the fact that there are large, monochrome, bright areas on my current pictures where you would see every speck of dust makes me incredibly stressed. After all, that would be the worst case scenario, to spoil the pictures at the last minute. But I don't want to admit defeat either.
My studio today is reminiscent of Breaking Bad – an area covered with plastic sheeting, me wearing a face mask, pure tension. Again and again I have to wipe off the varnish on the pictures because particles are getting stuck. Now, at the end of the day, I've only varnished three of the seven large paintings, but at least I'm happy with them. The remaining four will follow tomorrow. It couldn't be tighter, as the paintings are due to be hung the day after tomorrow. I can hardly sleep for agitation.
Mon, 24 February 2025, afternoon
Today was the complete opposite of the weekend: Everything went like clockwork. Vitus picked up my finished, freshly packaged pictures and me with his car. Marcus Dern was already on site – he knows the house inside out and organises the hangings for the association together with the exhibiting artists. His experience and expertise, but above all his calm and angelic patience, ensured that the day was a complete success – even when Vitus was still editing and framing his last pictures. We hadn't had a concrete plan for the distribution beforehand, but with questions such as ‘Which pictures are most important to you?’ or suggestions à la ‘Here's another idea on how to solve this’, we came closer and closer to a finished exhibition. I am incredibly relieved! It turned out so great, I can hardly wait to show the result and welcome the visitors.
Part 2 will follow shortly :)
Then with snapshots from the vernissage to the sale.
Until then, would you like to take a look at the now complete gallery of the HaBits series?
Comentarios