Torsten Slama
Komm und sieh. Vorschläge für eine Sprach- und Schulreform
17.01. – 28.02.2016

The representation of reality has always been a difficult undertaking. The problems begin with the definition of reality and any kind of visualization is an undertaking of a philosophical nature. The visual representation of reality is therefore a broad field in the history of fine art. The boundaries to the abstract or the surreal are fluid, as are the boundaries to the fantastic, and there is all too easy danger of slipping into the arbitrariness of pathetic, kitschy or stereotypical allegories.

A generation of artists who nevertheless dedicated themselves to this task in the spirit of analytical rationalism with painterly meticulousness were once the representatives of New Objectivity and Magical Realism. And an artist who, almost a century later, has once again set out to make an artistic attempt to combine dreamlike symbolism with the greatest possible graphic or painterly accuracy in the reproduction of something objective is the Austrian-born Torsten Slama (*1967). For years, his series of motifs featuring buildings, industrial plants, engines, technical structures and people have enchanted museum visitors and collectors. With their cool seriousness, they evade quick interpretation as well as superficiality in terms of motifs in times of digital unlimitedness. The Kunstverein Bremerhaven is presenting Torsten Slama for the first time in the northwest with a selection of recent works.

Curated by Dr. Kai Kähler.