showroom
Opening: January 18th, 6 – 9 pm
Duration: January 19th until March 22nd
The
solo exhibition by Thomas Nitz offers a unique perspective on the
present, simultaneity, and the interface in between. As a renowned
photographer, Nitz focuses on the rudimentary without committing to a
specific philosophy. Instead, he mirrors the brutality of the times,
imparting his works with a distinctive tactility, abstraction, and
aesthetic through the use of analog photography.
The
uniqueness of Nitz’s approach manifests in how he develops negatives
through the contact process with liquid photo emulsion on self-coated
cardboard. In doing so, he intentionally blurs the clear boundaries
between painting and photography. Nitz chooses watercolor boards,
meticulously priming them with color and preparing them with
photosensitive emulsion. Manual processing forms the basis of his
artworks, as each board is individual, influencing the result in an
unpredictable way. Each shot is not arbitrarily reproducible, and
each print differs fascinatingly from the others.
The
exhibition ‘meanwhile’ presents various series, including
‘Crossover,’ ‘Lost,’ ‘Brut,’ and ‘Screenshot.’ These series provide a
unique insight into Nitz’s artistic endeavors.
In
his ‘Crossover’ series, the Berlin-based artist employs an innovative
approach. He initiates the shoots with a drawing, using coarse
materials like charcoal on a large canvas. Nitz then places the model
in front of the drawing and exposes it in a long exposure. The result
becomes visible just minutes after the shot. The depicted individuals
merge with the drawing, and their blurry shadows showcase their
presence in an unusual way. Nitz creates not just photographs but
unique artworks that break the traditional boundary between painting
and photography.
What
sets this process apart is that the pre-made drawings are not
preserved but destroyed and painted over after each session. Only a
negative remains, resurfacing photographically as ‘Lost.’ In the
‘Lost’ series, the artist consciously challenges conventional values.
He creates unique pieces in an era of endless reproduction, allowing
pre-drawings to survive only in the resulting photograph. The rough
sketches, almost manic in appearance, convey intoxication, eroticism,
and anger – a wealth of emotions that linger in the image after the
destruction of the sketches, only as a memory.
The
‘Brut’ series, on the other hand, explores the understanding of
aesthetics and consciously goes beyond it. Distancing itself from
conventional food photography, Nitz opts for the pure, raw, and
coarse. Using large-scale black and white techniques and targeted
top-down lighting, he crosses the boundary from the appetizing to the
unappetizing. This expression places food photography in a realm
beyond the pleasing, where imagination seeks to transcend the
perception of disgust.
The
exhibition concludes with ‘Screenshots’ of war images. No further
comment.
“Thomas
Nitz – Meanwhile” invites viewers to contemplate the complexity
of time through the lens of the photographer and engage with the
simultaneous existence of different realities.
