ART KARLSRUHE

The paintings created by the artist Laura Aberham, who lives and works in Düsseldorf, are defined by their color intensity and incredible dynamic. Her use of color and form is confident and extremely powerful, and her mostly large-scale, abstract works appear gestural and at the same time precisely composed. Laura Aberham's paintings are a tribute to color. With gestural, voluminous brushstrokes, she skillfully brings unusual color constellations onto the canvas in many layers; here, color itself becomes the concept. The artist, who graduated from the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf as a master’s student under the direction of Ellen Gallagher, found her very own artistic style through her very physical approach to color. At the beginning of her studies, she attended sculpture classes, where she internalized her experiences with volume and dynamics. She continued to apply her experiences with structure, form, and space into her paintings. Due to their spatiality and physical dynamics, Laura Aberham's works appear to continue beyond the edge of the canvas into the space of the viewer.

The artist duo CASAGRANDE & RECALCATI, who live and work in Milan, feel a connection to the tradition of still life. The flower paintings, titled Hypervanitas, take up the idea of baroque vanitas images, and their close connection with the ephemeral. The flower paintings, titled Hypervanitas, refer to the idea of baroque vanitas paintings, and their close connection with the ephemeral. The paintings are reflections of the inevitable passing of time and illustrate various stages of beauty in continuous metamorphosis. The artist duo, who has already worked for Dolce & Gabbana, skillfully celebrates beauty, materiality, and transience in their paintings. Their latest oil paintings on canvas depict lush, floral compositions that, on closer inspection, already seem to be slowly wilting. The paintings by the artist duo transport us to an imaginary Garden of Eden, which is subject to slow degradation. Here nature portrays itself as a morbid beauty. Everything is fleeting but preserved thanks to the meticulous art of painting.

Josef Hirthammer has been working as a visual artist for over 40 years. His œuvre is extremely complex and defies categorization. The broad artistic range is reflected in the different design mediums, such as painting, drawing, photography, digital painting, sculpture, and installations. In terms of content, Josef Hirthammer focuses on portraits as well as ecological and philosophical themes, which he approaches through his work series. He is an outspoken nature enthusiast who transforms his encounters with nature into art objects. He is primarily interested in the producing, generating, creative, and active nature, which becomes effective from itself and which in the philosophical tradition has been equated with the source of all finite things. The artist, who lives and works in Fürth, views nature as a macro- and microcosm of its own with a unique aesthetic. This way of thinking provides him with inspiration for his works of art.

A vast, seemingly infinite plain forms the foundation for the scene: As if from nowhere, people appear on the surface of the image. They emerge from layers rich in nuances of light white or hazy gray, leaving plenty of room for interpretation. The artist Leszek Skurski, who is a native of Poland, repeatedly devotes his paintings to figurative storytelling. In his works, he depicts many stories, that remain open-ended and allow the most diverse interpretations. They are paintings depicting narratives that seem to have paused or stopped in action, and Skurski captures these forms with a narrative density. Many evanescent moments of our existence and interactions are captured on the canvas like excerpts or snapshots between their occurrence and disappearance. Hence, the images of the artist, who lives and works in Fulda, are reminiscent of film stills or still images that outline a content, character, or mood. 

Constantin Schroeder's figurative paintings are impressive, moving images with a profound sense of depth. His pictorial protagonists are fascinating characters that never let us go. Internalizing the present with all its complexities, he uses a very reduced color palette. Mostly executed in large formats, the scenes captivate the viewer with their characteristic narratives. Schroeder reaches deep into the archive of the human psyche. His works reveal an enigmatic iconography, which includes young heroes posing interpersonal mysteries. The artist, who lives and works in Berlin and studied theology, philosophy, and art history, also illuminates the darker sides of life in an extraordinary, hyper-realistic style. These are powerful images that captivate us with their enigmatic pictorial content. Schroeder leaves some parts of the image white, which allows the viewer to develop his or her own interpretation and understanding of the image through open associations.