Rainer Fetting, Ruprecht von Kaufmann, Jan De Vliegher
May 8 – June 20, 2020
From 8th May to 20th June 2020 we will show paintings by Rainer Fetting, Ruprecht von Kaufmann and Jan De Vliegher in the exhibition "Fernweh" ( Wanderlust ), which represent places to which one currently cannot travel due to coronavirus. The necessary restriction of the freedom to travel is a burden. Art can offer a compensation here.
Wanderlust is the longing for faraway places - the works in the exhibition enable a mental time-out in distant places. Rainer Fetting ( born 1949 in Wilhelmshaven, DE ) shows in his painting with the same title a skater in Venice Beach in Los Angeles. The work gives a feeling of freedom and easiness. The hinted white-yellow sun on the horizon symbolizes joy of living and hope. The movement and feeling of the skater are captured with colors and expressive brushstrokes. Rainer Fetting lived in Berlin and New York in the 80s and early 90s, gave up his New York residence in the mid 90s and since then has been commuting between Berlin and the island of Sylt. His life and his art stand for internationality and openness. Rainer Fetting shows in his landscape paintings not only the beauty of nature, but - as in the painting "Frachter" - also the invasion of civilization and the power of the elemental forces as in "2 Figuren im Sturm am Meer ( Orkan Sabine )".
Wanderlust can also be recognized by a restlessness or a vague desire to escape everyday life. In his work "War nie wirklich weg, war nie wirklich da" Ruprecht von Kaufmann ( born 1974 in Munich, DE ) processes a trip to Norway, which he had planned and longed for years. During the trip, however, he had difficulties to stay in the moment. The human being has the urge to focus mentally on events in the future and therefore cannot fully experience and accept the present moment. In addition to the longing for something new and different, the work reminds us to practice mindfulness and to accept the present moment.
In Jan De Vliegher's (born 1964 in Bruges, Belgium) paintings with the title "People", a colourful hustle and bustle can be seen in the San Marco Square in Venice. It is a square that attracts tourists from all over the world and symbolises internationality and cosmopolitanism. Jan De Vliegher takes advantage of this coming and going on one of the most famous squares in the world and freely composes the motif in terms of colour, arrangement and light until harmonious and balanced compositions emerge. Also in the works of his "Beach" series, Jan De Vliegher uses lively beaches only as an occasion for his painting, which is not about an exact depiction of reality, but about the emotional effect of color, form and composition.