Pouring Oil on Troubled Waters, Galerie Wilma Tolksdorf, Frankfurt/Main, Dec. 2, 2017 – Feb 17, 2018
In the third solo exhibition Pouring Oil on Troubled Waters Galerie Wilma Tolksdorf presents a selection of new works by the artist Matthias Meyer.
The expression “Pouring Oil on Troubled Waters“ may serve as a reference to the element water that is ever intrinsic to the art works of Matthias Meyer. On the one hand, vivid river and seascapes are prevalent which in many cases contain motifs in the original points of reference the artist works with. On the other hand, the title of the exhibition alludes to the balanced interchange between dynamic and serene pictorial elements in works by Matthias Meyer as well as to his characteristic use of highly thinned oil paint.
Photographs of water and cityscapes are the starting point of the artist’s painting process and embed his abstract pictures into reality. Though, compared to earlier groups of works the original motifs vanish in the multi-layered combinations of the vibrant oil colours. The specific work titles thereby serve as points of reference and stimulus through association.
Focusing on the final effect of the colour, the artist develops initial acrylic studies in which he conceives the colour composition and the underlying structure of the painting. Based on the study though without any preliminary drawing, the artist transfers the compositional framework onto the empty canvas, soaking the material with colour. The deep structure shimmers through virtually all layers of colour and defines the effect of the artist’s works.
The wet-on-wet technique of Matthias Meyer allows him to adapt the qualities of watercolour painting and to let the strongly thinned oil colour to flow freely on the canvas with the colours flowing into each other, whilst at the same time controlling it purposefully. The balanced interplay between the autonomous oil paint and the artistic-gestural intervention allows the many layers of transparent colour to unfold their elegantly subtle, and at the same time, vibrant Qualities.
Matthias Meyer (*1969 in Göttingen) lives and works in Mülheim an der Ruhr. He completed his study course at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf as master student of Gerhard Richter. Works of the artist are in possession of notable art collections around the world and have been shown domestically and internationnally in exhibitions for example in New York, Kyoto, Munich and Amsterdam. The exhibition Matthias Meyer – Gläserner Tag at Kunstmuseum Mülheim an der Ruhr in 2017 has been Matthias Meyer’s most extensive solo exhibition and is accompanied by a catalogue.
Exhibition: December 2, 2017 – February 17, 2018
Opening: December 1, 2017, 7 – 9 pm