#2: Laurentius Sauer + Michael Günzer
06.08.21–05.09.21
Groundfloor Playground starts on 6.8. in the second round. This time, painter Laurentius Sauer, who lives and works in Augsburg, has invited his colleague Michael Günzer from Ulm to join him in the ring. Together they will now compete and challenge each other on the experimental field for young artistic positions on the first floor of the Holbeinhaus. It is about masculinity and struggle, but also about pride and vulnerability - as can be read in the facial expressions and the habitus of those portrayed by the two artists. Sometimes obvious, sometimes less so. At least when the protagonists, like Sauer's city cowboys, already fell off their horses before the act of painting. The inner and outer fight, which is boxed out in the art association by the artists and their portrayed, is an archaic and raw one. But it is also one that should be approached with due suspicion. The artists themselves do so, at least.
Laurentius Sauer
Laurentius Sauer's mostly medium- to large-format works come across with cheeky lightness. Sometimes almost snotty, sometimes with almost old-masterly sovereignty and perfection, the artist, who lives in Augsburg, throws his subjects onto the painting surface. And Sauer is also free in his choice of this painting surface, not necessarily following the conventions of his branch or the expectations of the viewer. Printed tarpaulins seem to have the same value for him as the classic canvas. Again and again, ciphers of the zeitgeist flash up on them and become elements that, although they remain in the background of the picture, often dominate the composition: company logos and distinctive advertising lettering. Giant pixels and roughly rasterized image sections also catch the eye, as we hardly know them anymore from the mass distribution of images in the print media today. (A reminiscence of 20th-century art history?) Sauer uses oil paints or varnishes to overlay color surfaces – sometimes as transparent layers, sometimes opaque; sometimes as clouds of color, sometimes as clearly delineated forms. By repeatedly placing figurations in the foreground of his works with an emphatically expressive gesture, he skillfully and purposefully relates them to the striking motifs of our consumer and living world. He challenges us irritated viewers to question our own position in this very present, not without a wink.
The use of pastel chalk supports the graphic, narrative moment in Sauer's works. But spraying is also a tried and tested means for the artist who has a graffiti background. Because the fast urban underground technique allows him to live up to the moment and to act quickly and unrestrained in the creative process - like his horses, again and again these horses...
Laurentius Sauer, (*1987 in Augsburg) studied painting/graphics at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich in the classes of Günter Förg and Gregor Hildebrandt. In 2017, he graduated as a master student of Gregor Hildebrandt. He was awarded the studio support program of the Free State of Bavaria.
His works have been shown in London, Copenhagen, Munich and Memmingen, among other places. Now also in his hometown Augsburg.
Laurentius Sauer's mostly medium- to large-format works come across with cheeky lightness. Sometimes almost snotty, sometimes with almost old-masterly sovereignty and perfection, the artist, who lives in Augsburg, throws his subjects onto the painting surface. And Sauer is also free in his choice of this painting surface, not necessarily following the conventions of his branch or the expectations of the viewer. Printed tarpaulins seem to have the same value for him as the classic canvas. Again and again, ciphers of the zeitgeist flash up on them and become elements that, although they remain in the background of the picture, often dominate the composition: company logos and distinctive advertising lettering. Giant pixels and roughly rasterized image sections also catch the eye, as we hardly know them anymore from the mass distribution of images in the print media today. (A reminiscence of 20th-century art history?) Sauer uses oil paints or varnishes to overlay color surfaces – sometimes as transparent layers, sometimes opaque; sometimes as clouds of color, sometimes as clearly delineated forms. By repeatedly placing figurations in the foreground of his works with an emphatically expressive gesture, he skillfully and purposefully relates them to the striking motifs of our consumer and living world. He challenges us irritated viewers to question our own position in this very present, not without a wink.
The use of pastel chalk supports the graphic, narrative moment in Sauer's works. But spraying is also a tried and tested means for the artist who has a graffiti background. Because the fast urban underground technique allows him to live up to the moment and to act quickly and unrestrained in the creative process - like his horses, again and again these horses...
Laurentius Sauer, (*1987 in Augsburg) studied painting/graphics at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich in the classes of Günter Förg and Gregor Hildebrandt. In 2017, he graduated as a master student of Gregor Hildebrandt. He was awarded the studio support program of the Free State of Bavaria.
His works have been shown in London, Copenhagen, Munich and Memmingen, among other places. Now also in his hometown Augsburg.
Michael Günzer
Michael Günzer paints exclusively figurative. In his oil paintings on canvas or paper he portrays people – personalities from art, literature, politics and pop culture as well as people from his immediate environment. Even complete strangers arouse his interest. As models, he uses photographic self-portraits that are publicly available on the World Wide Web and in social networks.
Is the artist, who lives in Senden, interested in transforming these supposedly real images into paintings? Not at all. Does he want to work out their personalities via the painted portrait? Quite the opposite. At a time when photographic portraits are omnipresent, when the mass repetition of the same types, motifs, poses, and compositions in smartphone photos postulates stereotypical ideals of beauty, Günzer's painting rather formulates a fundamental mistrust he has of the image. He detaches the heads of the portrayed from their context, separates them from the body and places them on a white background. Nothing refers to place and time anymore. This act of equal treatment eliminates any reference to the social status and role of his protagonists in the present or in history. Even the personal relationship of the artist to his models, if it existed, is made forgotten.
Günzer paints almost manically in series. Variants of the appearance of a single person, produced by a quick hand, increasingly detach the painterly likeness from the carefully staged photographic self-portrayal of the models.
Michael Günzer lives and works in Wullenstetten, a district of Senden. He studied at the fine arts in Karlsruhe. From 2010 to 2011 he was a master student of John Bock.
Before his exhibition at the Kunstverein Augsburg, his works were shown in Löwenberg (Brandenburg), Lisbon and Ulm, among other places.
Michael Günzer paints exclusively figurative. In his oil paintings on canvas or paper he portrays people – personalities from art, literature, politics and pop culture as well as people from his immediate environment. Even complete strangers arouse his interest. As models, he uses photographic self-portraits that are publicly available on the World Wide Web and in social networks.
Is the artist, who lives in Senden, interested in transforming these supposedly real images into paintings? Not at all. Does he want to work out their personalities via the painted portrait? Quite the opposite. At a time when photographic portraits are omnipresent, when the mass repetition of the same types, motifs, poses, and compositions in smartphone photos postulates stereotypical ideals of beauty, Günzer's painting rather formulates a fundamental mistrust he has of the image. He detaches the heads of the portrayed from their context, separates them from the body and places them on a white background. Nothing refers to place and time anymore. This act of equal treatment eliminates any reference to the social status and role of his protagonists in the present or in history. Even the personal relationship of the artist to his models, if it existed, is made forgotten.
Günzer paints almost manically in series. Variants of the appearance of a single person, produced by a quick hand, increasingly detach the painterly likeness from the carefully staged photographic self-portrayal of the models.
Michael Günzer lives and works in Wullenstetten, a district of Senden. He studied at the fine arts in Karlsruhe. From 2010 to 2011 he was a master student of John Bock.
Before his exhibition at the Kunstverein Augsburg, his works were shown in Löwenberg (Brandenburg), Lisbon and Ulm, among other places.
Laurentius Sauer + Michael Günzer:
Groundfloor Playground starts on 6.8. in the second round. This time, painter Laurentius Sauer, who lives and works in Augsburg, has invited his colleague Michael Günzer from Ulm to join him in the ring. Together they will now compete and challenge each other on the experimental field for young artistic positions on the first floor of the Holbeinhaus. It is about masculinity and struggle, but also about pride and vulnerability - as can be read in the facial expressions and the habitus of those portrayed by the two artists. Sometimes obvious, sometimes less so. At least when the protagonists, like Sauer's city cowboys, already fell off their horses before the act of painting. The inner and outer fight, which is boxed out in the art association by the artists and their portrayed, is an archaic and raw one. But it is also one that should be approached with due suspicion. The artists themselves do so, at least.
Laurentius Sauer:
Laurentius Sauer's mostly medium- to large-format works come across with cheeky lightness. Sometimes almost snotty, sometimes with almost old-masterly sovereignty and perfection, the artist, who lives in Augsburg, throws his subjects onto the painting surface. And Sauer is also free in his choice of this painting surface, not necessarily following the conventions of his branch or the expectations of the viewer. Printed tarpaulins seem to have the same value for him as the classic canvas. Again and again, ciphers of the zeitgeist flash up on them and become elements that, although they remain in the background of the picture, often dominate the composition: company logos and distinctive advertising lettering. Giant pixels and roughly rasterized image sections also catch the eye, as we hardly know them anymore from the mass distribution of images in the print media today. (A reminiscence of 20th-century art history?) Sauer uses oil paints or varnishes to overlay color surfaces – sometimes as transparent layers, sometimes opaque; sometimes as clouds of color, sometimes as clearly delineated forms. By repeatedly placing figurations in the foreground of his works with an emphatically expressive gesture, he skillfully and purposefully relates them to the striking motifs of our consumer and living world. He challenges us irritated viewers to question our own position in this very present, not without a wink.
The use of pastel chalk supports the graphic, narrative moment in Sauer's works. But spraying is also a tried and tested means for the artist who has a graffiti background. Because the fast urban underground technique allows him to live up to the moment and to act quickly and unrestrained in the creative process - like his horses, again and again these horses...
Laurentius Sauer, (*1987 in Augsburg) studied painting/graphics at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich in the classes of Günter Förg and Gregor Hildebrandt. In 2017, he graduated as a master student of Gregor Hildebrandt. He was awarded the studio support program of the Free State of Bavaria.
His works have been shown in London, Copenhagen, Munich and Memmingen, among other places. Now also in his hometown Augsburg.
Laurentius Sauer's mostly medium- to large-format works come across with cheeky lightness. Sometimes almost snotty, sometimes with almost old-masterly sovereignty and perfection, the artist, who lives in Augsburg, throws his subjects onto the painting surface. And Sauer is also free in his choice of this painting surface, not necessarily following the conventions of his branch or the expectations of the viewer. Printed tarpaulins seem to have the same value for him as the classic canvas. Again and again, ciphers of the zeitgeist flash up on them and become elements that, although they remain in the background of the picture, often dominate the composition: company logos and distinctive advertising lettering. Giant pixels and roughly rasterized image sections also catch the eye, as we hardly know them anymore from the mass distribution of images in the print media today. (A reminiscence of 20th-century art history?) Sauer uses oil paints or varnishes to overlay color surfaces – sometimes as transparent layers, sometimes opaque; sometimes as clouds of color, sometimes as clearly delineated forms. By repeatedly placing figurations in the foreground of his works with an emphatically expressive gesture, he skillfully and purposefully relates them to the striking motifs of our consumer and living world. He challenges us irritated viewers to question our own position in this very present, not without a wink.
The use of pastel chalk supports the graphic, narrative moment in Sauer's works. But spraying is also a tried and tested means for the artist who has a graffiti background. Because the fast urban underground technique allows him to live up to the moment and to act quickly and unrestrained in the creative process - like his horses, again and again these horses...
Laurentius Sauer, (*1987 in Augsburg) studied painting/graphics at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich in the classes of Günter Förg and Gregor Hildebrandt. In 2017, he graduated as a master student of Gregor Hildebrandt. He was awarded the studio support program of the Free State of Bavaria.
His works have been shown in London, Copenhagen, Munich and Memmingen, among other places. Now also in his hometown Augsburg.
Michael Günzer:
Michael Günzer paints exclusively figurative. In his oil paintings on canvas or paper he portrays people – personalities from art, literature, politics and pop culture as well as people from his immediate environment. Even complete strangers arouse his interest. As models, he uses photographic self-portraits that are publicly available on the World Wide Web and in social networks.
Is the artist, who lives in Senden, interested in transforming these supposedly real images into paintings? Not at all. Does he want to work out their personalities via the painted portrait? Quite the opposite. At a time when photographic portraits are omnipresent, when the mass repetition of the same types, motifs, poses, and compositions in smartphone photos postulates stereotypical ideals of beauty, Günzer's painting rather formulates a fundamental mistrust he has of the image. He detaches the heads of the portrayed from their context, separates them from the body and places them on a white background. Nothing refers to place and time anymore. This act of equal treatment eliminates any reference to the social status and role of his protagonists in the present or in history. Even the personal relationship of the artist to his models, if it existed, is made forgotten.
Günzer paints almost manically in series. Variants of the appearance of a single person, produced by a quick hand, increasingly detach the painterly likeness from the carefully staged photographic self-portrayal of the models.
Michael Günzer lives and works in Wullenstetten, a district of Senden. He studied at the fine arts in Karlsruhe. From 2010 to 2011 he was a master student of John Bock.
Before his exhibition at the Kunstverein Augsburg, his works were shown in Löwenberg (Brandenburg), Lisbon and Ulm, among other places.
Michael Günzer paints exclusively figurative. In his oil paintings on canvas or paper he portrays people – personalities from art, literature, politics and pop culture as well as people from his immediate environment. Even complete strangers arouse his interest. As models, he uses photographic self-portraits that are publicly available on the World Wide Web and in social networks.
Is the artist, who lives in Senden, interested in transforming these supposedly real images into paintings? Not at all. Does he want to work out their personalities via the painted portrait? Quite the opposite. At a time when photographic portraits are omnipresent, when the mass repetition of the same types, motifs, poses, and compositions in smartphone photos postulates stereotypical ideals of beauty, Günzer's painting rather formulates a fundamental mistrust he has of the image. He detaches the heads of the portrayed from their context, separates them from the body and places them on a white background. Nothing refers to place and time anymore. This act of equal treatment eliminates any reference to the social status and role of his protagonists in the present or in history. Even the personal relationship of the artist to his models, if it existed, is made forgotten.
Günzer paints almost manically in series. Variants of the appearance of a single person, produced by a quick hand, increasingly detach the painterly likeness from the carefully staged photographic self-portrayal of the models.
Michael Günzer lives and works in Wullenstetten, a district of Senden. He studied at the fine arts in Karlsruhe. From 2010 to 2011 he was a master student of John Bock.
Before his exhibition at the Kunstverein Augsburg, his works were shown in Löwenberg (Brandenburg), Lisbon and Ulm, among other places.
Events:
Friday,
06.08.21,
17–21 h
06.08.21,
17–21 h
Opening of the exhibition
with Laurentius Sauer + Michael Günzer
with Laurentius Sauer + Michael Günzer
