Helmut Dorner
dal 21/5/2003 al 3/7/2003
Segnalato da
21/5/2003
Helmut Dorner
Sean Kelly Gallery (old location), New York
Helmut Dorner's exhibition is comprised of a major body of new paintings that both employs and expands upon the lexicon of abstract painting. Whilst Dorner's work has been identified as referencing the Romantic tradition in German art, as typified by such diverse artists as Casper David Friedrich, Joseph Beuys and Gerhard Richter, it is perhaps more accurate to reflect upon his interests in the work of painters as various as Gustave Courbet and Robert Ryman and the poetic aspirations of artists such as Blinky Palermo and Richard Tuttle.
NEW PAINTINGS
Sean Kelly Gallery is delighted to announce an exhibition of important new
works by Helmut Dorner. This is Dorner's first solo exhibition in New York
since 1999 and his first at Sean Kelly Gallery.
In the mid 1980s Helmut Dorner emerged as one of the most significant
abstract painters of his generation, achieving widespread recognition
through major solo and group shows worldwide. Dorner has exhibited with the
eponymous Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany since 1988 and was
included in the influential Documenta IX in Kassel, Germany, in 1992. Born
in Germany in 1952, Dorner studied under Gerhard Richter at the Düsseldorf
Art Academy from 1976 to 1982 and has been Professor of Painting at the
Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Karlsruhe, Germany since 1990.
Helmut Dorner's exhibition is comprised of a major body of new paintings
that both employs and expands upon the lexicon of abstract painting. Whilst
Dorner's work has been identified as referencing the Romantic tradition in
German art, as typified by such diverse artists as Casper David Friedrich,
Joseph Beuys and Gerhard Richter, it is perhaps more accurate to reflect
upon his interests in the work of painters as various as Gustave Courbet and
Robert Ryman and the poetic aspirations of artists such as Blinky Palermo
and Richard Tuttle.
Dorner's recent paintings are complex interventions utilizing a Plexiglas
substrate rather than the more typical materials of canvas or linen. The
works are created with successive layers of lacquer that exploit the
correspondences and harmonies of seemingly discordant colors and forms. The
resultant works challenge traditional precepts of painterly space, the
function of the act of painting itself and widely held conventions of
aesthetic beauty. Dorner's use of Plexiglas allows the viewer not only to
look at the work, but also through the work, a metaphor for looking within
oneself for inspiration in interpreting the meaning of his paintings and his
use of the picture plane. While the technique and 'action' of painting is
present in all of his work it is not the subject of his paintings. It is
perhaps more accurate to identify his work within a poetic or existential
tradition, which employs precise conceptual stratagems.
His work is included in museum, public and private collections worldwide.
Seminal solo exhibitions have included han, Hans-Thoma-Museum, Bernau,
Germany; Helmut Dorner, FRAC d'Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France and
Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland. His work has recently been included in several
group exhibitions including: Zoom - Ansichten zur deutschen Gegenwartskunst,
Sammlung Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, Galerie der Stadt Stuttgart, Germany;
Peinture, FRAC d'Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France; Visions of the Fundació
la Caixa, Contemporary Art Collection Fundació 'la Caixa', Palma, Spain and
Nuevas Abstracciones, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid,
Spain.
The opening of the
exhibition will take place on Thursday, May 22nd from 6pm until 8pm. The
artist will be present.
Please contact Amy Gotzler at the gallery 212.239.1181 for
more information. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday from 11am until
6pm and Saturday from 10am until 6pm.
In the image: 'Helmut', 2003, lacquer on Plexiglas
Sean Kelly Gallery
528 West 29th Street
New York, NY 10001
Tel. (212) 239.1181
Fax. (212) 239.2467