Slawomir Elsner
17 Jan 2014 - 07 Mar 2015
SLAWOMIR ELSNER
Framed
17 January - 7 March 2015 Berlin
Under the title Framed, Gallery Gebr. Lehmann Berlin is showing drawings and watercolors by Slawomir Elsner (size A4), from works created over the past 10 years.
In his works on paper, the artist covers a wide range of themes and transfers collective impressions into the sphere of individual reflections. He focuses on the contrast between the manner of presentation and the image content–the actual grave subject is aesthetically modified until it becomes beautiful. So, one looks with distinct visual pleasure at what is (or might be), in fact, a terrible setting. Elsner doesn’t completely resolve the mysterious situations in his images. He rather plays with the expectations and visual habits of the spectator, as well as with one’s imagination and one’s willingness to perceive new things.
Slawomir Elsner’s pictures are extracts of our real and medial world. Shadow-like figures, lonely places, left-behind objects–this fragmentary presentation of the reality allows for a wide range of interpretations and associations. There are many things left unsaid, kept secret, and hidden. Only through subtle hints and short insights, do the stories and worlds beneath the surface of the painting become visible. In this way, the artist investigates the inherent rules and impact of the visual aesthetic.
Elsner’s works are often based on photographs. The images are meticulously transferred onto the paper and undergo artistic transformations that, on one hand, make the original image almost unrecognizable and, on the other hand, make their internal dissonances appear more clearly. The material is implemented in accordance to the ambiguity in content: coloring crayons, which are typically perceived as harmless, serve here as an instrument for presenting the horrid. Color intensity characterizes Slawomir Elsner’s pictures. The thick hatching consists of the multiple layers, and single, fine lines make up a complete image–gradually, the drawing adopts the aesthetical features of a painting.
Framed
17 January - 7 March 2015 Berlin
Under the title Framed, Gallery Gebr. Lehmann Berlin is showing drawings and watercolors by Slawomir Elsner (size A4), from works created over the past 10 years.
In his works on paper, the artist covers a wide range of themes and transfers collective impressions into the sphere of individual reflections. He focuses on the contrast between the manner of presentation and the image content–the actual grave subject is aesthetically modified until it becomes beautiful. So, one looks with distinct visual pleasure at what is (or might be), in fact, a terrible setting. Elsner doesn’t completely resolve the mysterious situations in his images. He rather plays with the expectations and visual habits of the spectator, as well as with one’s imagination and one’s willingness to perceive new things.
Slawomir Elsner’s pictures are extracts of our real and medial world. Shadow-like figures, lonely places, left-behind objects–this fragmentary presentation of the reality allows for a wide range of interpretations and associations. There are many things left unsaid, kept secret, and hidden. Only through subtle hints and short insights, do the stories and worlds beneath the surface of the painting become visible. In this way, the artist investigates the inherent rules and impact of the visual aesthetic.
Elsner’s works are often based on photographs. The images are meticulously transferred onto the paper and undergo artistic transformations that, on one hand, make the original image almost unrecognizable and, on the other hand, make their internal dissonances appear more clearly. The material is implemented in accordance to the ambiguity in content: coloring crayons, which are typically perceived as harmless, serve here as an instrument for presenting the horrid. Color intensity characterizes Slawomir Elsner’s pictures. The thick hatching consists of the multiple layers, and single, fine lines make up a complete image–gradually, the drawing adopts the aesthetical features of a painting.