Magnus Plessen
02 May - 21 Jun 2014
MAGNUS PLESSEN
neunzehnhundertvierzehn
2 May - 21 June 2014
Konrad Fischer Galerie Berlin is pleased to announce the opening of the third solo exhibition of new paintings by Magnus Plessen (*1967) on May 2, 2014, 6pm - 9pm.
Magnus Plessen’s new works stem from his contemplation on Ernst Friedrich’s anti-war pamphlet „War against war“. Published in 1922, the book depicts severely injured and disfigured World War I veterans. The question if and how painting can come close to these startling heads is combined in the new works with the broader issue of the representation of reality in painting. Rather than serving in any way as models for the paintings, these photographs act as catalysts, bringing to the fore questions and problems that Plessen has been touching on for years.
In accordance with models of reality in modern physics Plessen dismissed traditional modes of representation several years ago. Instead he has invented pictorial forms which morph between abstraction and figuration. His paintings don’t deliver an ideal viewpoint or a clearly defined pictorial space anymore. Reality is represented in his works as one of many various possibilities and we find on Plessen’s canvases the simultaneous appearance of disparate elements, a being and becoming of forms on stage in the painting. Plessen’s working method follows suit, for in the process of painting he repeatedly rotates the canvas, treating it from all directions, avoiding a fixed orientation point within the composition.
These fundamental dynamics of Plessen’s approach are ever present in his latest works. However, the preoccupation with Friedrich’s images of these war wounded men has drastically changed the atmosphere of these paintings. Despite a colorful appearance, gloom permeates Plessen’s new series - for how can painting show non-existing matter, clearly invisible to the human eye and yet having such enormous impact on the lives and identities of the victims. Within dark, black zones in Plessen’s paintings fragmented heads seem to be caving in, hinting at existential loss, alienation, and a condition of non-being. It is as if they have slid into a space out of which, we must assume, is no escape.
neunzehnhundertvierzehn
2 May - 21 June 2014
Konrad Fischer Galerie Berlin is pleased to announce the opening of the third solo exhibition of new paintings by Magnus Plessen (*1967) on May 2, 2014, 6pm - 9pm.
Magnus Plessen’s new works stem from his contemplation on Ernst Friedrich’s anti-war pamphlet „War against war“. Published in 1922, the book depicts severely injured and disfigured World War I veterans. The question if and how painting can come close to these startling heads is combined in the new works with the broader issue of the representation of reality in painting. Rather than serving in any way as models for the paintings, these photographs act as catalysts, bringing to the fore questions and problems that Plessen has been touching on for years.
In accordance with models of reality in modern physics Plessen dismissed traditional modes of representation several years ago. Instead he has invented pictorial forms which morph between abstraction and figuration. His paintings don’t deliver an ideal viewpoint or a clearly defined pictorial space anymore. Reality is represented in his works as one of many various possibilities and we find on Plessen’s canvases the simultaneous appearance of disparate elements, a being and becoming of forms on stage in the painting. Plessen’s working method follows suit, for in the process of painting he repeatedly rotates the canvas, treating it from all directions, avoiding a fixed orientation point within the composition.
These fundamental dynamics of Plessen’s approach are ever present in his latest works. However, the preoccupation with Friedrich’s images of these war wounded men has drastically changed the atmosphere of these paintings. Despite a colorful appearance, gloom permeates Plessen’s new series - for how can painting show non-existing matter, clearly invisible to the human eye and yet having such enormous impact on the lives and identities of the victims. Within dark, black zones in Plessen’s paintings fragmented heads seem to be caving in, hinting at existential loss, alienation, and a condition of non-being. It is as if they have slid into a space out of which, we must assume, is no escape.