Rolf Bienentreu
Spiegelungen
09.10. – 13.11.2005

Rolf Bienentreu was born in Duisburg in 1951. He attended various schools, studied philosophy and theater studies, and graduated with a degree in medicine in Berlin in 1980. He has been a pediatrician since 1985. Parallel to his work as a doctor, he remained connected to art and created his own works in the tradition of Tapies and Beuys. His first exhibition, “Collected Objects from a Divan,” was shown in Berlin in 1980. This was followed by further exhibitions in Berlin and other locations in Germany and abroad, including Bremerhaven. “Aprilheiland Erotik der Orte” (April Fool’s Day Eroticism of Places) was the title of his first exhibition in Bremerhaven in 1983. This was followed by: “Aprilheiland Erotik der Gegenstände” (April Fool’s Day Eroticism of Objects) in Bremerhaven and Rotterdam in 1984, “zwei Selbstbildnisse” (two self-portraits) in Bremerhaven in 1990, and “Tiefe Spiegel” (Deep Mirrors) in 1999.

The new exhibition deals with the theme of narcissism: the artist searches for himself in his work and cannot find himself; the audience searches for the artist and finds only its own projections; the artist asks the audience to tell him who he is, but it is in vain, long lost in time. Mirror upon mirror, only searching, no answers.

Works from the last six years are on display, including ink-soaked Swiss stone pine boards mirrored by 10 to 15 layers of lacquer, photographs of landscapes or people taken in these mirrors, and finally a short film shot in Genoa. True to form, I have chosen the register of Arte Povera to tell of the human soul in its fragile and secret refuges. Introductory words will be spoken by Anna Caterina Bellati, journalist and art historian from Milan.

Curated by Anne Schmeckies.