#TOUR

In Hängung #19 Enrico Bach presents new paintings that have been created within the last year. Rectangular, overlapping colour fields form the basic structure of his compositions. They intersect, are staggered behind one another or appear to push across one another, creating the illusion of a spatial structure but one that is incomprehensible in its depth. Edges of areas that lie in a supposed lower layer of the picture set linear accents, particularly at the picture edges. With spatial and light values in the colouring, Enrico Bach condenses the complexity of his painted image spaces. Colour progressions that generate the impression of shadows and structures that produce an apparently tangible materiality allow objective aspects to enter into his abstract painting.

Enrico Bach faces the option of infinite variations with artistic thematic questions, which can be seen in pictures from three new series of works in Hängung #19. In the works in the RS series, large screen areas reveal the topic. In pieces from the HM series, the artist uses metallic gloss colours and typographical elements, whereas the PS series is characterised by strongly differentiated structures, which themselves are symbolic.

The artistic work of Franziska Holstein is highly process-oriented. In the thick material application and in the relief on the surface, the paintings on canvas, o.T. (M4, 2012) and o.T. (M2, 16), indicate multiple processing of the compositional structure. By contrast, pieces from the o.T. (45) series emerge from processes that are both artistic and manual craft. They produce panels in acrylic paint, in which the paper image base is surrounded by layers of colour applied on both sides.

In the work of Franziska Holstein, the principle of working and reworking multiple times allows recourse to existing works, which become the resource, the stimulus, for new pieces. From 2014, Hängung #19 presents a seven-part series of lithographs on paper and a 19-part series of hand-offset prints, which refer to division ratios or formal structures from previous paintings.

Franziska Holstein’s systematic way of working is expressed not least in two new works, which have been created for Hängung #19; wall piece o.T. (64) spreads over the area in combinational lawfulness, whilst the artist presents a three-dimensional work for the first time with the o.T. (FP 3D) series. The installation on level 2 at KUNSTWERK comprises around sixty elements of a 170-part series based on an area divided into six fields and their folds.

In an interview, Ayan Farah defines her work as pictorial, even if it does not conform to the usual concept of what painting is. Here, the foundation or basis of her pictures is not the usual canvas that is commercially available; she uses found, often historic materials, which already carry their own (life) story. In places, fragments of embroidered ornaments or lettering emphasise a personalised quality to the material. In the choice of colour, she also pursues her own direction. On her project trips, she collects minerals, plants and soils, which are charged with a specific character of the place from which they were taken and consequently also comprise more than a commonly available pigment. The work in the studio resembles a chemical experiment, as only little or no influence can be exerted over the absorbency of the materials and the colour reaction, especially when various substances are combined. This is also often true if the artist exposes the coloured materials to sunlight over a prolonged period and thus bleaches them again. In the method of colouring and of combining the material elements, Ayan Farah refers to African handcraft traditions, which ultimately connect in her pieces with elements of western abstract art.