Albert Oehlen
dal 17/3/2006 al 21/4/2006
Segnalato da
17/3/2006
Albert Oehlen
Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin
Two exhibition: in Zimmerstrasse paintings from 2005 will be exhibited. Since the end of the 90s the artist has been dealing with the colour scale of grey. In Holzmarktstrasse the large format painting "Annihilator" will be on display in a surprising interplay with the work by Darren Almond, "Mono Chrono Pneumatic White".
Solo show
Galerie Max Hetzler is pleased to present in both galleries an exhibition of new work by Albert Oehlen. At a time when painting has been declared dead, Albert Oehlen has continually reinvented it, reshaping it playfully, always in opposition to traditional hierarchies. His "post-nonrepresentational" painting (as he calls it) is based on a serious grappling with the history of painting.
In Zimmerstrasse paintings from 2005 will be exhibited. Since the end of the 90s Oehlen has been dealing with the colour scale of grey. The represented objects or persons (or parts of them) nearly disappear as if hidden behind a monochrome curtain of grey shades. In "Vergessen auf Radern" the figure is only blurredly apparent in the centre, a tightrope walk between abstract and representational portrayal. The other paintings in this exhibition seem to form a glaring contrast: colour explosions on a white background. The canvasses seem to be filled with broad, colourful and abstract brushwork, with neon-coloured spray, but at the same time with fine, darkening contour drawings of objects and figures.
In Holzmarktstrasse the large format painting "Annihilator" from 2001/06 will be on display in a surprising interplay with the work by Darren Almond, "Mono Chrono Pneumatic White" from 2006. Every minute Almond's oversized white digital clock releases a different detail of Oehlen's painting placed behind it. "Annihilator" also shows another facet of Oehlen's work: The painting (374 x 709 cm) is based on a drawing created on a computer that had been printed out on canvas through an inkjet process and then overpainted with oil and varnish. The artist will also present recent collages. Their background sometimes consists of representations of well-known works of art history, which are commented on by pictures taken from glossy magazines or the daily press (i.e. pin up girls or politicians) glued over them.
Albert Oehlen, born in 1954, has been closely connected to the Galerie Max Hetzler since his first show in 1981. He lives and works in Spain. Albert Oehlen has had exhibitions in several institutions and museums, among others Kunsthaus Graz (2006), MOCA Miami (2005), Secession, Vienna (2004), Muse'e Cantonnal de Lausanne (2004), Muse'e d'Art Contemporain, Strasbourg (2002), Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hanover (2001), Kunsthalle Basel (1997) and IVAM Valencia (1996). In July 2006 the Whitechapel Gallery in London and in September 2006 the Arnolfini in Bristol will present a survey show of his work.
Opening Saturday, March 18 2006, 6 - 8 pm
Max Hetzler Gallery
Zimmerstrasse 90/91
Holzmarktstrasse 15 - 18 - Berlin
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11am - 6pm