How is the relationship of man to his environment thematized in contemporary painting?
Using two different positions, OFF-SPACES opens up spatial worlds that invite the viewer to add his or her own sensory experiences and associations. The actual pictorial motifs merely become points of origin for individually created secondary settings - off-spaces. It is difficult to resist this unpredictable pull of the moment when looking at the works of Leszek Skurski and Folkert Rasch, which is why our recommendation is to accept the artists' offer: to allow oneself to be drawn into the depicted situation and the associated secondary worlds and to actively bring the motifs to life.
In Leszek Skurski's figurative painting, stringent reduction creates an exaggerated focus on figures skillfully outlined with a few brushstrokes. By whitewashing away all surrounding distractions from a monochromatic, meaning-laden surface of carefully placed shades of white, a clear view of the dynamics of the protagonists placed in seemingly endless space is revealed. The search for the meaning of man in today's world here takes on distanced forms that can be viewed objectively, although the pervasive depiction of this very question evokes its own feelings and memories in the viewer. The question of beginning and end no longer arises in these seemingly untenable everyday situations, instead the artist captures the moment and does not let it go as long as the viewer engages in this external view.
Folkert Rasch initiates a curiosity in the viewer with the depiction of sections of the sea, which encourages him to a sustained search for a foothold or boundaries, a defined horizon. Will this be found? What will the complete panoramic view of the water look like? The artist preempts the comprehensive view by sometimes paradoxically placing the sea view on the canvas in extreme vertical formats. The feigned limitation of the pictorial space is dissolved in the viewer's memory, bringing to light thoughts of moments long past or a longing for refreshing expanse. Shimmering points of light in characteristically streaky painted water sequences, the tangible realization of sand structures and the intensity of glowing coloration at a sunset characterize the open, even endless effect of the works.
Reveling and longing, searching and staying - find out for yourself what the depicted scenes - or rather their side scenes, which arise quite individually only with you as a viewer, evoke in OFF-SPACES in your world of thought!
