Künstlerhaus Bethanien

Thomas Kellner

You & Me

24 May - 17 Jun 2018

Max de Esteban, Elegies of Manumission 1, 2010, Giclèe-Print, Courtesy Collection Thomas Kellner.
THOMAS KELLNER
You & Me
24 May – 17 June 2018

In the exhibition You & Me Thomas Kellner (*1966 in Bonn) is showing 20 works by 17 artists with whom he has exchanged 10 of his works over the course of 10 years.In this exhibition, the “You” signifies first of all the other artist, whose work he exhibits in his studio and with whom he will perhaps exchange a work. But “You” is also the work of art, which Kellner invites into his home in order to get to know it, just as the visitor to an exhibition is confronted by something new. “You” is the guest in the studio. There cannot be a “You” without the corresponding “Me”. “You” and “Me” are like Yin and Yang, mutually necessary, correspondent parts of a whole.The presentation focuses on images of people, produced in artistic exploration of the body and portraiture.Contrasting to these, Kellner’s own images of architecture pose questions about our view of the world, which is generally defined even today by the central perspective of the Renaissance. Kellner dissolves this central focal point and makes a different suggestion: the multiperspective parts, chopped into various viewing angles, merge into a new whole suggesting a novel image of the world, no longer static but synthetic-dynamic.Thomas Kellner sees himself not only as an artist but also as a networker and negotiator. For 20 years now, he has been using his studio in Siegen as a hub for his global activities, the aim being to promote exchange among artists. Kellner invites colleagues from all over the world to annual meetings, which have already culminated in a number of surprisingly original and unusual exhibitions.You & Me shows works by Lili Almog (USA), Marco Ambrosi (I), Max de Esteban (E), Diane Ducruet (F), April Gertler (D), Lorena Guillén Vaschetti (RA), Liu Lijie (CHN), Katarzyna Majak (PL), EJ Major (GB), Katharina Mouratidi (D), Wawi Navarroza (RP), Kitty Paranagua (BR), Diana Scherer (NL), Daniel Schumann (D), Urszula Tarasiewicz (PL), Rebecca Norris Webb (USA), Qiu Zhen (CHN).
 

Tags: Max de Esteban, Thomas Kellner, Wawi Navarroza