Andreas Amrhein, Tim Ernst, Thomas Fischer, Roland Stratmann – Voyage, Voyage
Malerei und Arbeiten auf Papier / paintings and works on paper
25. Juli – 5. September 2015/July 25 – September 5, 2015

Vernissage/Private View: 24. Juni 2015 von 19-21 Uhr/July 24, 2015, 19-21

Sommeröffnungszeiten im August / opening times in August: Di.-Sa. 14.00-18.00 Uhr/ tue-sat 14:00-18:00

Info

“Voyage, Voyage” unites paintings and other paper-based work on the theme of travel. The chart-topping hit record from 1986 by French singer Desireless, aka Claudie Fritsch-Mentrop, lends the exhibition its title. The song evokes many exotic destinations, but primarily it is about desire and the infinite freedom of our thoughts and dreams. While the song, full of vitality and high spirits, ignores reality in the work of our four artists dream and reality, idyllic holidays and ties of home collide and clash with each other. Cliches about holidays are debunked. In the end there is the realization that home is best and we are the foreigners, we don’t really want “otherness” at all.

Andreas Amrhein, born in 1962, studied fine arts at the Universität der Künste (UdK), Berlin: advertising slogans and themes from our globalized world combine to create an ironic alienation. He exposes the core of our world of consumerism and entertainment as, ultimately, the same everywhere. An astute observer, he embarks on a journey through time, to places both exotic and mundane, combining both in a travelogue of his own. This tension is expressed in his acrylic paintings and etchings, alternating between delicate and meticulous lines and splashes of colour on the page.

Tim Ernst, born 1977, studied fine arts at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste Karlsruhe: he takes us along on a journey by hot air balloon. Speaking metaphorically, we just climb on board and see where the wind blows us. Paradoxically Tim visualises the world not from above, but from below he tilts the balloon itself and we travel with him to the centre of his distorted perspective paintings that he develops by adding solid elements to his medium. Tim‘s delight in the absurd and fantastic breaks out in bizarre scenes. Humankind’s dream of flight or the farewell that accompanies every journey, lets us look yearningly upwards.

Thomas Fischer, born 1964, studied fine art at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf: He isolates and fragments bulky objects and landscapes in his paintings. The supposed idyll of a mountain or Lakeland landscape is transformed into a brittle arrangement of structures. Are these places accessible to the individual? Taken out of their original context the supposed holiday places seem to be alienated and objectified. Before beginning to paint Fischer takes exploratory photographs capturing a detail of reality.

Roland Stratmann, born 1964, studied fine arts at the UdK Berlin): He collects postcards, buying them at auctions and filing them thematically. With used picture-postcards from around the world he creates so-called “PostCuts“ and large-scale works on paper that show unusual insights. He arranges the cards in a way that allows new insights and perceptions. With an incision of a scalpel he engraves fine lines to make his so-called “PostCuts“; arranging many cards and painting over those already used with Indian ink, creating great social images, relocating us to such places as France or South Africa. The postcards‘ words of greeting can reveal deep meaning: impressions formed on a journey can be so disturbing that some travelers would rather sit in a hotel and watch television.

Biography by request