On 5 September 2024, just in time for the start of the new art season, Galerie Friedmann-Hahn will open the solo exhibition Absurda by artist Josef Fischnaller. In addition to some well-known works from the cycles Prächtig, Apocalypse, Erotica and Metamorphose, 16 new works will also be on display.
Image gallery
Schriftzug Ausstellung, Gelb
Josef Fischnaller's lively portraits and still lifes are reminiscent of Renaissance and Baroque painting.
They show the visionary planning and seductive theatricality of his masterful stagings. His arrangements remain enigmatic in their construction and are based on the fascinating reciprocity of modern absurdity and the omnipresence of art historical references. To this end, Fischnaller constructs self-reflexive presences that simultaneously surprise the viewer and take them on a journey through time.
Light and staging are the central pictorial elements in Josef Fischnaller's works.
The portraits are dominated by the contrast between light and dark, the chiaroscuro. Josef Fischnaller's works are characterised by a parody of familiar ways of seeing, humour and high aesthetics. An eclectic Renaissance interior is created with opulent props and colourful ornaments. The still lifes are reminiscent of baroque vanitas paintings, also due to the transience of the beauty of the subjects depicted.
While we recognise one or two Old Masters in Fischnaller's opulent works, the people depicted seem very contemporary and modern. In the key motif and title picture, for example, we see a young woman with the tattooed lettering ‘Absurda’, in another picture the famous lawyer and patron of the arts Peter Raue in the role of Rembrandt's ‘Man with the Golden Helmet’.
In this way, the present and the past are closely intertwined and merge in the photographic round dance of the photographic artist.
About the artist:
- Josef Fischnaller, born 1964 in Grieskirchen, Austria.
- Studied in Vienna.
- Freelance advertising photographer since 1986, moved to Berlin in 2000;
- CCA Venus Award Gold, the International Andy Award Montreux and the Cresta Award from Unicef.
- The artist lives and works in Berlin.
Additional information
We do apologize that the following information is currently only available in German.
