Transgression of Testimony
Text by Sassa Trülzsch: His hands break through a barrier, they reach toward her, touch her, hold her tenderly, they are engaged. At the same time, because they are the hands of the artist, they lend their purpose, which would actually lie solely in shaping and mastering the image, for the purpose of offering her, the model, his counterpart and beloved, his feeling hands as a symbolic attribute. In this image, they belong to her, as an accessory to a main figure.
Image gallery
Ausstellung - Schriftzug in mehreren Sprachen
In the flow of the passing of all things, they frame her face in this immortalized moment of intimacy and beauty. "Marked as an analog handprint," "signed by Manfred Paul," criteria to prove it is a unique piece, this portrait of Verena from 1971 is condescending into a metaphor, a linguistic image. Manfred Paul translates his authorship and signature into a poetic image creation that transcends the boundary between artist and model.
The image described above does not stand alone. It belongs to a series, titled Lebenszeichen Verena, that is presented in Paul’s second solo exhibition at the LOOCK Gallery. It is an overview of work in a single motif: his wife Verena in moments of life, as a mother giving birth, as a dancer, as an artist, as a lover, as his counterpart, portrayed since 1971. These photographs, taken over the course of 40 years, communicate a variety of emotions, transformations, and the process of aging.
They are icons, as are the cityscapes and the outstanding still lifes that can be found in Paul’s oeuvre. We see in this exhibition what it means to have time, to measure time, to spend time, and to collect time.
Additional information
- Thurs. to Sun. 12 noon – 6 p.m.
- Opening: Saturday, 8 March 2025 | 3 – 7 p.m.
