(Zoom-) Opening: March 12, 7 pm
Exhibition duration: March 12 – April 23 2021
Ending: April 23
book an appointment
Showroom
Studio visit
Exhibition Tour
Talk25 (in German)
We humans always move between herd instinct and the need for rest. We long for the hustle and bustle of the fair and overcrowded clubs, as well as lonely forest huts and deserted beaches. How much company do we need, how much alone time? When is being alone a healthy need for rest, when can loneliness and social isolation become a burden? The fact is: humans are social beings. But our need for closeness fluctuates. Sometimes sardines, sometimes lone wolf. Especially in times of the corona pandemic, the question of people as social beings is more relevant than ever. When social contacts are restricted, being alone can quickly become loneliness.
In the exhibition “everything seems to be good when I am taking a bath”, Raymond Ganter addresses the ambivalent topic of “closeness” and addresses the question “how much society do we need?” in an artistic way. Are we (too) lonely when we only meet a few people? Why are we drawn to crowded beaches in the company of countless other people? Visually, the artist plays with the dissolution of the figures and the scenery and thus creates the ambivalent perception that we have in relation to the society that surrounds us. Right now we are all feeling this turmoil particularly clearly. We actually feed on contacts and at the same time perceive them as exhausting and even questionable. We vacillate between indulging and longing that a picture of big events like festivals no longer feels uncomfortable.
In Gantner’s pictures, which have names such as “The Bathers”, “Overcrowded Shore”, “Glass City” or “Juntos”, the contrasts between sociability and being alone become clear. Using the technique of screen printing and oil on canvas, Gantner slowly approaches his motifs. Screen printing is not used as a mere means of reproduction, but as a creative means in the process of creating images. In addition to the screen prints, sculptural works can also be seen, such as “The Glass Tower”, “The Overcrowded Skyscraper”, “Architecture as a Meeting Place”. With the sculptures, the artist works on the subject from a figurative and architectural perspective and uses various plastics such as Plexiglas, acrylic glass and Vivak as materials.
Community, sociability, closeness, distance and loneliness – this topic has rarely been as challenging and current as it is now. The current extreme situation shows us our paradoxical need between the desire for seclusion on the one hand and a sense of community on the other. Wherever people can move fluently between the two extremes, there is currently a lack of freedom of choice. Having the choice of when to address what needs makes all the difference.
