LAURENZ BERGES, BERNHARD FUCHS, JITKA HANZLOVÁ
24 May - 19 Jul 2014
Laurenz Berges, Düsseldorf-Eller I, 1996, 63 x 54 cm
Bernhard Fuchs, Obstbäume, Laimbach, 2010, 40 x 43 cm
Jitka Hanzlová, untitled, 1998, 48 x 37,5 cm
Galerie Wilma Tolksdorf is pleased to present a selection of works by the artists Laurenz Berges, Bernhard Fuchs and Jitka Hanzlová which were previously exhibited in a collaborative show at FOTOHOF Salzburg. All works have in common the poetical perspective which is particularly reflected in the subtle choreography of light and also in the capacity of the artists of transforming the specific atmosphere and the mood of a certain place into the medium of photography. The scenes of the everyday life taken from the subjective view point of the artists condense into universal statements on human life.
Between 1996 and 1999 Laurenz Berges develops a series of works in the area of Düsseldorf, Essen and Aachen. The photographed places are the peripheries of the brown coal fields in the Rhine area. While the single works are characterized by its fragmentation and flatness, the work cycle as a whole originates an general view which is neither nostalgic nor sentimental, but which instead makes evident the typological characteristics and especially the particular prevailing mood of the suburbs.
Bernhard Fuchs has found the subjects for his series “Farms” in his “point of origin” in Mühlviertel being part of Upper Austria. The works show farms of peasants and the surrounding landscape with its changes throughout the seasons. In this cycle Bernhard Fuchs deliberately avoids the presence of persons. By doing so he emphasizes the connection between the nature and the man-made buildings and stables. The works also refer to the structural and social transformations in an area which is marked by the out-migration of the population.
One of the leitmotifs Jitka Hanzlová deals with in her works is the autobiographical determined question regarding identity. The series “Here” which started in 1998 and was accomplished between 2005 and 2010 is dedicated to her adopted hometown Essen and its surroundings. The images of the landscape, architecture and humans create a kind of a mental portrait of the industrial Ruhr area. However the view point of the artist oscillates between being native and alien at the same time. The alternating relation between the artist, the photographed surrounding and its inhabitants culminates in a typology the region: “Here” is a place, is history, presence and future.
Between 1996 and 1999 Laurenz Berges develops a series of works in the area of Düsseldorf, Essen and Aachen. The photographed places are the peripheries of the brown coal fields in the Rhine area. While the single works are characterized by its fragmentation and flatness, the work cycle as a whole originates an general view which is neither nostalgic nor sentimental, but which instead makes evident the typological characteristics and especially the particular prevailing mood of the suburbs.
Bernhard Fuchs has found the subjects for his series “Farms” in his “point of origin” in Mühlviertel being part of Upper Austria. The works show farms of peasants and the surrounding landscape with its changes throughout the seasons. In this cycle Bernhard Fuchs deliberately avoids the presence of persons. By doing so he emphasizes the connection between the nature and the man-made buildings and stables. The works also refer to the structural and social transformations in an area which is marked by the out-migration of the population.
One of the leitmotifs Jitka Hanzlová deals with in her works is the autobiographical determined question regarding identity. The series “Here” which started in 1998 and was accomplished between 2005 and 2010 is dedicated to her adopted hometown Essen and its surroundings. The images of the landscape, architecture and humans create a kind of a mental portrait of the industrial Ruhr area. However the view point of the artist oscillates between being native and alien at the same time. The alternating relation between the artist, the photographed surrounding and its inhabitants culminates in a typology the region: “Here” is a place, is history, presence and future.