Expressive!

STEPHAN HASSLINGER weaves expansive objects from ceramic cords that seem familiar to us, but confuse us with their explosive scale – they are enlarged many times over and fascinating in their craftsmanship … Are they handbags, sweaters, shoes, brooches, all familiar utensils that become brightly colored wall and room objects here? … Knitting patterns and braiding: baroque reminiscences? Confusing titles such as Amuse Bouche, knitted dress by Lady Gaga show desire and mischief. Hasslinger enchants and changes familiar ways of seeing.

MICHAEL THÜMMRICH spreads out large-format tapestries on paper or unprimed canvas before us. The focus of his work is not on pre-planned pictorial ideas, but on spontaneous reactions. In a lengthy process, he gives free rein to his creative play … using a wide variety of water-soluble, transparent, oily opaque painting media, he creates unplanned, surprising effects to which he reacts and which he continues to work on. He adds new pictorial elements, aggressively scratches holes in the layers, reacts to folds, and finally soaks the painting ground with linseed oil or shellac, thus changing its materiality in order to create these multi-layered, expressive works.

Author of the event picture: Stephan Hasslinger