Wolfgang Ullrich - Böcker

Over three decades, the painting of Anton Henning (*1964) has been both a challenge and an inspiration. For him, “even more modern” means showing the lasting significance of modernism for the present. The first volume of his large-scale catalogue of works of 2018 was a basic introduction to his work as a painter.“Vol. 2” now offers an unexpected shift of perspective to his in-depth examination of art history from the Renaissance to Romanticism. A rare interview with Anton Henning about his practice and his artistic self-image supplements the extensive picture section.Text in English, German, French, and Japanese.

Christian Hellmich (b. 1977) creates works characterised by gestural abstraction and the asymmetrical arrangement of planes of colour, which are used to develop a kind of geometric grid pattern that dissects the pictorial space. This avoids any uniform perspective so that spaces penetrate into one another, and various image planes appear simultaneously. The fragments of motifs that Hellmich assembles are taken from his extensive image archive of photographs, magazine cuttings, Internet sources, postcards, and more. His approach is shaped by society’s handling of images in today’s mediatised age. References to architectural structures and comic-like shapes trigger associations without being clearly categorisable, thus rousing interest in their assumed decryption.Text in English and German.

State of Change provides an overview of the artistic work of Karen Irmer (b. 1974). In her photographs and film installations, which are as poetic as they are analytical, Irmer reflects upon the relationship between illusion and reality, but also between the artwork and the viewer. Her work is characterised by atmospheric moods and pared-back visual language. The recurrent subject is landscape, in which she seeks contemplation and immersion – as an alternative to the overstimulated reality of modern life, in which it often appears these things are no longer possible.Text in English and German.

Spectacular tapestries with a critical message For over 25 years, Margret Eicher has been creating a unique oeuvre of tapestries. With precise knowledge of the history of this genre, she revives it and gives it a surprising and convincing topicality. Where once the nobility celebrated themselves on tapestries and demonstrated their own power, Margret Eicher's tapestries feature the superstars of today. At the same time, however, she gives room to those who have had little or no power to date. The formerly affirmative character of tapestry art is thus expanded to include a critical dimension, as Margret Eicher turns it into a tool of profound media reflection. There can hardly be any other oeuvre today that presents the consequences of the digital revolution in such a clear and differentiated way.