There are many opposite poles in my works: line and surface, open and closed space, transparent and opaque components, angled and round, smooth and rough, and many others. And that’s how I approach the material, as well. I think it’s interesting to do something with material that isn’t inherent in it. For example with glass, which has a separating function, but is also transparent at the same time. That a broken edge is like a line. That are various movements in opposite directions, which are important to me to create a dialog.
Camill Leberer in conversation with Rasmus Kleine, BLICKWECHSEL 2010
Ruri Matsumoto reduces three-dimensional spaces to lines with the help of thread and finally translates the whole into a painted canvas. With each layer, the composition becomes more complex. The lines are arranged vertically and straightened with adhesive tape. Under the tape, colors can mix together, while fragments of color sometimes break off when the tape is removed.
The result is a painting that at first glance appears to be constructed with strong lines, but on closer inspection is a landscape of lines that are both delicate and unpredictable.
In his artistic work, Jürgen Paas investigates the function of painting, of memory and of complexity. In doing so, he always takes the object of the painting as his starting point, which he examines, stores, deposits, duplicates, archives, and always presents in relation to the spaces he finds – almost like in a museum.
Jürgen Paas distances himself in his work from the singular image and works in series, condensations, ensembles, installations or thematizes this multiplicity in the openness of the individual image composition.
(Dr. Gabriele Uelsberg, Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn (D) 2016)
The first thing that strikes you about Dirk Rathke’s pictorial objects is their unmistakable shape, which also determines their form. What becomes apparent more slowly is the spectrum of effects created by their differentiated and very different color schemes. And what ultimately sets them apart is the precisely coordinated and indissoluble interplay of color, form, and image carrier, which gives each individual work its specific identity and challenges and sustainably engages the visual intelligence of its viewers.
Dr. Dirk Koppelberg