Simon Modersohn
12.07. – 16.06.2020
With the paintings of Simon Modersohn, the Kunstverein is showing the third exhibition in its series on young art in Germany, based on the exhibition project “Jetzt!”, which aimed to provide an overview of the painting positions of young artists in Bonn, Wiesbaden and Chemnitz. A selection of the works can be seen at the Deichtorhallen Hamburg until the end of August.
The first in the series in Bremerhaven was Franziska Holstein with her color field painting in September 2019, followed by Tim Freiwald in January with his object-like painting.
Now Simon Modersohn, who, like Franziska Holstein, can be seen in Hamburg.
The Kunstverein is delighted that, after Otto and Heinrich, the youngest member of the famous Modersohn family is exhibiting at the Kunsthalle.
Writing about his painting in the catalog for the exhibition “Jetzt!” Nicole Büsing and Heiko Klaas:
An overturned flower pot lies on one of those gabion fences made of stones and metal that are currently in vogue. The perfectly trimmed box tree right next to it has obviously fallen headfirst onto the ground. Perhaps out of frustration at its unnatural surroundings? “Suicide”, the title of this painting by Simon Modersohn, suggests as much. The figurative oil paintings by the painter, who trained under Werner Büttner at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Hamburg, combine a restrained objectivity with surreal, narrative elements. He often seeks the abysmal in everyday banalities. The concise titles add a linguistic, often humorous level to the atmospherically condensed visual language. For example, a formally rather reduced picture showing an empty small animal cage with a drinking device attached to the upper bars is laconically entitled “Durststrecke” (2018).
Simon Modersohn’s recurring motifs are rural detached houses with mysteriously illuminated windows. The unspectacular buildings are usually surrounded by meticulously tended gardens, enriched with accessories available at any DIY store. Heat sources such as home saunas or work lights appear repeatedly in his pictures, lending them a suggestive ambivalence. Simon Modersohn seeks a path to spiritual depth and truthfulness in the depiction of complex life contexts through painting. For him, the narrative only develops in the painting process. Last but not least, he is also interested in playing with changing perspectives and points of view. His imaginary scenes do not require a person, yet there are traces of previous human activity that subtly permeate the pictures. Simon Modersohn’s pictures develop their enormous density and balance in the finely balanced field of tension between presence and absence, coincidence and memory, tragedy and comedy, big city experience and country life.
Curated by Thomas Trümper.