Angelika Platen
dialog.digital.analog.
Angelika Platen's portrait photographs are extraordinary. Both how they come about, and in their results. When the photographer takes her camera, a complex process begins, which produces images that are more than a mere picture of external appearance.
Platen photographs artists, established and young positions, in the studio and in other places. Altogether about 300 contemporary artists were her models, among them Georg Baselitz, Sigmar Polke, Andy Warhol, Man Ray.
However, she does not only show them in their outward physiognomy, but wants to look "into their face and into the soul" (Angelika Platen). A challenge, because with each portrait photo, a picture comes into existence, which might influence the perception of the represented person in public. And the depicted personalities are aware of the fact, often more than subconsciously, resulting in many of them wanting to determine the image that is taken of them.
Angelika Platen's artistic portraits break through this superficiality. She succeeds in capturing the essence of a person in a single snapshot - unadulterated and immediate. Her photographs seem like a film still, a lingering event that the viewers are free to continue in their heads: What made Imi Knoebel laugh this way, why does Neo Rauch look so thoughtful, what is Sigmar Polke looking for, high up in the branches of a tree? It is exciting to enter this world full of special moments.
The exhibition shows photographs of her early days (at that time still completely analog and developed manually in her own darkroom on silver gelatin paper), as well as new artist portraits of the last years (now slightly digitally edited), with which she took up again photography after a longer pause for biographic reasons. Photographing the new artists, who had meanwhile grown older, again and photographing new, young positions, including SEO and Helge Leiberg.
Parallel to this, another exhibition by Angelika Platen takes place at Berlin’s Willy-Brandt-Haus, "Künstlern auf der Spur (Being on to Artists) - Portraits 1968-2008" (25th of January to 5th of March).
JArmo Mäkilä
Das Unheimliche
Jarmo Mäkilä's large-scale, autobiographical art works capture personal childhood memories and the mythology of his native country Finland.
As in his two previous solo exhibitions in our gallery (Kinderkreuzzug/Children's Crusade in 2010 and Jungenspiele/Boys' Games in 2012), the exhibition concentrates on memories and feelings that we associate with childhood.
Jarmo Mäkiläs's disturbing paintings capture the transition to the end of childhood, the moment when (moral) innocence fades. The artist himself describes his subjects as "a lively discourse between past and future".
The frequently recurring reference to the Grass’ Tin Drum from the year 1959 is by no means a coincidence in Mäkila's paintings and points to the non-growth of his only seemingly childish image personnel. For him, the famous German novel was an illuminating read with great influence on his painterly work.
Women are completely absent from Mäkila's paintings; He puts his finger on the wounds that male fears can leave in a world full of hidden rituals in a child's soul.
Although these autobiographical references stand so clearly in this oeuvre, it nevertheless appears universal. Both ‘good’ and ‘evil’, as well as the acting persons’ crushing solitude are discussed.
Jarmo Mäkilä was born in Rauma, Finland in 1952. He studied at the Finish Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki. In 2002 he was awarded the Pro Finlandia medal as one of the most important contemporary artists of Finland. His works are represented in important private and public collections worldwide.
Opening
FREITAG, January 27, 2017 from 7 - 9 pm
Exhibition
January 27 to March 18th, 2017
Galerie Michael Schultz GmbH & Co. KG
Mommsenstraße 34, 10629 Berlin, Telefon +49 30 31 99 13 0, office@galerie-schultz.de,
www.schultzberlin.com
opening hours: Tuesday - Friday 10am - 7 pm, Saturday 10am - 2pm
