Christian Hoischen
Jagdszenen aus Niederbayern
Renwick Gallery, New York
October 20 – November 17, 2007
Renwick Gallery presents Christian Hoischen, Jagdszene aus Niederbayern. This is Christian Hoischen's first solo show in New York.
Christian Hoischen's paintings, collages, photographs and sculptures scratch on the faux facades of the seemingly glossy objects of desire. Christian Hoischen has developed an idiosyncratic technique, related to that of verre églomisé, that allows him to spray, pour, paint and scratch into a layer of acrylic that, after drying out, is mounted onto thick plates of polystyrene. By subtracting the tactile and encasing the gestures of painting, Hoischen enforces a distance between the painting and the viewer. His process of painting onto a layer of transparent acrylic, a skin that is placed paint side down onto thick layers of polystyrene, allows the piece to operate both symbolically and metaphorically. Although the viewer is drawn towards and seduced by the narrative potential of the images, which are derived from media such as the press and advertisement, their essence remains obscure. With their mood ranging from latent sensuality to open violence they mirror the broad variety of Christian Hoischen's painterly approach: treating its subjects with careful detail as much as with disrespectful vehemence. The content or lack thereof is meant to suspend the resulting image on the edge between banality and violence. Christian Hoischen ultimately seeks to elicit from his viewers their own interpretation in this moment.
Christian Hoischen's new sculptures aim to draw out the moment between function and larger abstract concerns. The title "Geklärt im rechten Winkel" which when translated means "clarified in the right angle" acts as a metaphor for the artist. The 90 degrees of a picture frame presents a moment of clarity where the interpretation of a line, an image, or an object transforms from ordinary to being infused with meaning; a process that can only be done when removing the line/image/object from it's original environment. Christian Hoischen again leaves the interpretation from this point on to the viewer. The sculptures can be viewed as a further reduction of his paintings and the goals he sets out to accomplish with them.
Christian Hoischen recent exhibitions include "Eigenartige Geschäfte und Johnny im Wachkoma", Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin, 2006; "Fat & Guilty", Galerie Figge von Rosen, Köln, 2006; Städtische Galerie Bremen, 2006; "Steiler Konter", Bregenzer Kunstverein, Bregenz, 2006; "SPEED", Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin, 2006; "Ballermann. Die Ausstellung", Kunsthalle Kiel, Kiel, 2006.
RENWICK GALLERY
45 Renwick Street, New York, NY 10013
www.renwickgallery.com
