Theo Boettger
dal 30/4/2008 al 6/6/2008
Segnalato da
30/4/2008
Theo Boettger
Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, New York
Dirty Tricks. Boettger fuses expressive brushstrokes and graffiti style technique with tradition and street art; he mixes bright colors with a subtle palette of dark tones and hues. He combines painting, sculpture and installation that ask larger questions about humanity as seen from a personal perspective.
Priska C. Juschka Fine Art is pleased to present Dirty Tricks, Theo Boettger's first
solo exhibition at the gallery. Born and raised in former East Germany, Boettger
fuses expressive brushstrokes and graffiti style technique with tradition and street
art; he mixes bright colors with a subtle palette of dark tones and hues.
Boettger's work combines painting, sculpture and installation that ask larger
questions about humanity as seen from a personal perspective. The artist observes
life in his home city of Berlin, taking in its citizen's response to society's many
hardships, the manipulative forces of mass media and the visible excesses of
capitalism. He comments on these issues while aligning himself with the individual's
struggle against these forces.
Artistic examinations of upheaval in society by means of street observations have a
rich historical tradition in Germany. The high point of this tradition was,
arguably, the urban painting of Expressionism and Critical Realism in the 1920's.
By juxtaposing the rich and the poor, and combining the seemingly limitless
possibilities for amusement in Germany's capital Berlin and the individuals
experience of social anonymity, artists like George Grosz and Otto Dix often created
a very specific tension in their narrative.
Boettger's work seems to draw on this tradition by creating a pandemonium of
contemporary life on the brink of the abyss. Drawing from his own personal
experiences as an artist living and working in Berlin's historic working class
neighbourhoods (Wedding and Neukoelln), Boettger confronts the viewer with
demoralising details of social inequality and the apparent hopelessness of the human
condition. Rivalling the unemployment rate of the '20s, these neighbourhoods have
become an infamous testimony to a forgotten youth, where competing gangs fight each
other on a daily basis, while others attempt to go about their own "business," but
are merely getting by. Boettger's work carries a stark critique of western
capitalism as it is prevalent in Berlin and post- reunification Germany.
Theo Boettger was born in Meisen, Germany in 1975 and currently lives and works in
Berlin. He holds an MFA, under Professor H. P. Adamski, from the Academy of Fine
Arts, Dresden. In 2007 Boettger exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions in
Germany including Galerie im Schloss Senftenberg, Museum des Landkreises
Oberspreewald Lausitz and Gallery Pankow, Berlin. Boettger frequently works in
collaboration with German artist, Jan Brokof on large scale installations.
Opening reception on Thursday, May 1, 6-9 PM
Priska C. Juschka Fine Art - New location
547 West 27th Street - New York
Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday 11:00 to 6:00 PM or by appointment.
Free admission