nederlands

PERSBERICHT / PRESS RELEASE

"BLACK MATTERS"

CHRISTIAN HENKEL

ROB BOUWMAN

9 Jan - 20 Feb  2010

Opening: Saturday  9 Jan   17.00–19.00

In the new year 2010 Mart House Gallery presents for the first time the works of Christian Henkel and Rob Bouwman in the exhibition ‘Black Matters’.

Christian Henkel (1976, Germany) gets his inspiration from nature. One of his works is titled ‘Okrilla’. This title refers to the name ‘gorilla’ but also to the German city ‘Okrilla’ which is situated north of Dresden. The work shows three almost life-sized apes. The white ape is sitting, the black ape is standing and the third ape, which is also black, is hanging. The used materials foam, styrofoam, wire and epoxy, do basically what they want, which leads to a game between the wishes of the artist and the workings of the materials. Christian Henkel calls this game ‘taming a beast’. The apes are symbols for the creation of human beings referring to evolution, desire and failure.

Rob Bouwman (1981, The Netherlands) does not use a brush but his own hands to create his paintings. He lets his hands, which are covered in paint, glide over the canvas. The works are filled with organic forms without an obvious beginning or end. The forms, full of depth and structure, persuade the viewers to lose themselves into an unknown world. The forms have so much structure that they seem to go their own way. Especially for the exhibition ‘Black Matters’ Rob Bouwman has made a wall painting, although it is made differently.

In contrast with the first floor colour is clearly represented at the ground floor with the sculptures of Christian Henkel as well as the paintings of Rob Bouwman. The artists have a connection through stratification of the works and the complexity of the materials that are used.