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3/6/2013

Tim Eitel

Essl Museum Contemporary Art, Klosterneuburg

Curated by Günther Oberhollenzer

This is the first major solo exhibition of the internationally acclaimed German painter Tim Eitel in an Austrian museum. Tim Eitel is considered a representative of the figurative painting that has become part and parcel of contemporary art under the name of “New Leipzig School”. Eitel’s paintings are calm, focused and reserved. He portrays situations, not stories; his figures communicate through poses and gestures. Having studied in Stuttgart, Halle and Leipzig and lived in Berlin and New York, Time Eitel has now chosen Paris as his main city of residence. In addition to numerous exhibitions in Germany, the artist has also been highly successful at international level, including in the USA, in recent years.

Contemplative images and surreal moods Tim Eitel’s early paintings show green landscapes and cool museum spaces, populated by isolated human figures that are very much turned in on themselves. More recently, the museum spaces and natural landscapes have been replaced by a focus on urban settings with every-day scenes and motifs. Calm and sometimes contemplative, the paintings often concentrate on inconspicuous motifs that do not usually attract a great deal of attention. He presents hardly discernable figures in the dark, an unoccupied dilapidated mattress or a waste bin full of refuse bags and inhabited by pigeons. “There is a certain unreal atmosphere about them”, says Eitel, “because these commonplace situations are presented with a very high degree of concentration to the viewer.” He underlines that he does not paint banal objects and thus gives them importance, but that the importance was “already there”, and did only have to be brought out fully.

Painting as a concentrated essence of the real world Everything Tim Eitel paints is based on situations he has witnessed himself. His camera serves as a sketch pad. He takes photographs when he is looking for attitudes, gestures or architectural aspects that contain some element of more than passing interest. When putting these motifs onto canvas, the artist very rapidly disconnects from the photographic model and, in a process of elimination, removes any superfluous content until nothing diverts attention from the actual motif. He leaves no detail that would refer to a specific place, and every personal aspect is opened up into something of general validity. The viewer of the painting doesn ́t see this whole process, all the changes, the different layers and the time spent on them, but they produce a concentrated essence. “I will often repaint an area, and although I can’t see anything different, having used the same colour and everything, the painting has changed nevertheless. And then gradually, different levels of meaning will emerge. Sometimes I wonder, though, whether they are in the painting from the outset or whether they just develop because of me sitting there staring at the canvas.”

The scenes of his new paintings are set in starkly reduced environments, often domainted by dark tones and a restricted colour palette. “I simply couldn’t stand the garish canvases anymore. Moreover, the grays and dark tones in particular result in a stronger focus on the scene, on figures or objects”, is how Eitel explains his choice. Situations instead of stories The people in Eitl’s paintings are often alone, and even if there is two of them or little groups, they are hardly seen to interact. They may be linked by gestures and poses, but not by any emotional relationship. They usually look away from the viewers, refusing to communicate with them, and there is no direct glance looking for dialogue. “Why should they need to say anything, we couldn’t hear it anyway. This is not a movie; there is no script, no conflict and no dénouement.” Eitel has no wish to tell stories, but wants to present a completed situation by giving the figures and objects a strong presence, the viewers are expected to find a take on his work. The motifs often include a reference to the past; gestures, poses and shapes draw from the treasure trove of art history. Viewing them may well give one a sense of familiarity. According to the artist, every period finds expression in banal forms such as fashion, gestures, attitudes and architectural output - and these he intends to explore in his paintings.

Large and small formats The exhibition includes several formats, ranging from large to medium size and very small. The new series of medium-size formats makes it possible for the artist to place figures and objects onto the canvas in their original size. A large painting can be considered like a continuation of the space it is in, while a smaller format has much more intimacy.

Apart from works owned by Sammlung Essl and many loans created in the last ten years, the exhibition also includes new work fresh from the artist’s studio.

SPECIALS

Catalogue
The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue with numerous images which features a preface by Karlheinz Essl, an essay by Mara Hoberman and an interview with the artist made by the curator Günther Oberhollenzer in Eitel’s studio in Paris.

Art Education
The art education team offers guided tours and workshops during the exhibition, further details: www.essl.museum/art education

Press office: Erwin Uhrmann (head of press) - on educational leave
Regina Holler-Strobl, holler-strobl@essl.museum, +43 (0) 2243/370 5062
Magdalena Reuss, reuss@essl.museum, +43 (0) 2243/370 5060
Laura Maggale, praktikum2@essl.museum, +43 (0) 2243/370 50 60

Press conference: Tuesday, 04 June 2013, 10.00 a.m.

Opening: Tuesday, 04 June 2013, 7.30 p.m.

ESSL MUSEUM – Contemporary Art
An der Donau-Au 1, A-3400 Klosterneuburg / Vienna, Austria
Opening hours: TUE – SUN 10.00 – 18.00, WED 10.00 – 21.00
Tickets Essl Museum: regular € 7,- und reduced € 5,-

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