November 08, 2017, 2 pm
Many thanks to the office manager Jody Ohmann and the director Rachael Vance introducing our participants to the concept of ARNDT ART AGENCY and guiding us through the exhibition “TAXIS, MONSTERS AND THE GOOD OLD SEA” by Rainer Fetting at A3.
Exhibition Dates: October 26 – January 14, 2018
Location: ARNDT ART AGENCY (A3)
Opening Hours: Monday – Friday, 10 AM – 6 PM or by appointment
Address: Fasanenstraße 28, 10719 Berlin
“Arndt Art Agency (A3) is pleased to present a solo exhibition by German artist, Rainer Fetting. This exhibition is presented in collaboration with albertz benda, New York and DISTANZ publishers upon the release of the artist’s new publication “Rainer Fetting”.
The show includes thirteen new paintings spanning the last three years from 2014 to 2017. The majority of works depict landscapes and countryside scenes taken from the artist’s base of Sylt, further complemented by imagery derived from time spent in the United States.
The central theme of the sea and coastal environments, implicit in the show’s title “Taxis, Monsters and the Good Old Sea” is located in pieces such as “Surfer, Sylt” (2016) and “Seestück-Gischt” (2015) illustrating treacherous waves and figures surfing. These works reflect the artist’s strong bond with the North Sea. With a base on the northernmost island of Germany in the Frisian archipelago, Sylt, the enclave is known for its distinctive shoreline and rugged conditions.
Works such as “Dance on Ocean Beach” (2015), “Palmtrees” (2015) and “Taxi South Beach” (2015) include motifs taken from travelling within the United States. Fascinated by the scenery and energy surrounding Florida’s beaches, Fetting has captured these impressions on canvas. Palm trees are juxtaposed with the image of a glaringly yellow taxi rich in colour, that contrasts with the quieter, soothing mood of the horizon lines of the other works.
The illustration of cows in pastoral settings is a new development in the artist’s practice. Represented in three works throughout the exhibition, the outer forms of the animals appear blurred, allowing them to seemingly merge with their surrounding landscapes. The artist uses various techniques such as: the application of lacquer in order to emphasise its materiality and paint squeezed directly from the tube onto the canvas, in addition to the free pouring of paint. In this way, various technical possibilities refer to the respective subject, aiming to enliven a sense of alienation within each composition.
Connecting to the exhibition’s title, a “monster” lurks in the painting “clown in car / landscape” (2016). Here, audiences are presented with an unsettling scene of a clown with a menacing expression staring out of the rear window of a car upon an apocalyptic setting. (Text excerpt from the press release by courtesy of A3)
More information on the ARNDT ART AGENCY Website.
