V E R N I S S A G E
October 22th, 2023
11 am - 3 pm
in Leverkusen

Martin Sieverding captures the echo of nature in his paintings, a subtle interplay of past and present. His works resemble a primal matter that is closer to music and theatre than to everyday life. In a continuous process of construction and destruction, he layers structures and colours on canvas to create his highly reliefed works. The sculptural quality and reduced colour palette tell of beauty and transience and are reminiscent of stranded ships or romantic ruins. In delicate visible structures lies the present, a fleeting “now” between times. Sieverding’s art, whispers of the essence of nature – what was, what is and what is yet to come.

Frieder Salm and Carl Finkbeiner are professional photographers and cinematographers who have worked in feature films, nature documentaries and commercials both nationally and internationally. The starting point of their artistic works are photographs of extraordinary places worldwide, which are transformed in an individual process. In the process, deliberately broken symmetries and new, fascinating forms are created through mirroring processes. The resulting images invite the viewer to pause and contemplate. At first glance, they radiate harmony and a sense of well-being, but a closer look reveals subtle breaks that offer room for interpretation and discovery.

Frank Teufel draws seemingly effortless lines in with the stone that challenge the limits of statics and give the stone an unexpected lightness. These lines weave a diverse network, interacting with each other or with themselves. Sometimes they move concavely, then convexly again, sometimes they run parallel or set off from each other, only to gently come together again later. The traces of processing remain on the surface of the stone so that the original materiality and crystal structure can be experienced – nothing is concealed or smoothed. These traces resemble impressions and experiences that shape each sculpture and give each life its uniqueness.

In her stone sculptures, Mechthild Ehmann develops an abstract, organic-looking formal language that combines sensuality with clarity. Polarities are her theme and she always finds new ways to emphasise properties of the raw material and combine them with apparent opposites such as lightness and sensuality. The result is a harmonious balance in which aesthetics merge into a tense, sensual condensation. The sculptures rest on a small support point and thus attain an unexpected mobility and lightness. In their sensual presence, they encourage one to be touched and to experience a sensual journey in which haptic exploration becomes a natural impulse.

Sandra Wenderhold Gallery Manager		John David Curator