en | dt

Exhibition information

Lucinda Devlin | Lena von Goedeke
Caroline von Grone | Simone Nieweg | Tanya Poole

Under the title Naturen | Natures, Galerie m will be exhibiting photographs by Lucinda Devlin and Simone Nieweg, ink lavuras by Tanya Poole, paintings by Caroline von Grone and sculptures by Lena von Goedeke. The constellations of works, which consist almost exclusively of new works by the artists, move within a broad field of tension: While Lucinda Devlin's (* 1947 in Ann Arbor, MI, USA) photographs of the Salt Lakes in Utah, USA, or Lena von Goedeke's sculptures inspired by the lava fields of Greenland deal in a strategic-conceptual way with harsh natural phenomena in which human life is pushed to its limits, the paintings of Caroline von Grone and Tanya Poole's ink paintings have an enchanting attraction, which also plays a role in the water photographs of Simone Nieweg.

The extent to which man has distanced himself from a pristine, untamed nature is the subject of the artistic investigations of Lena von Goedeke (*1983 in Duisburg). She lives on Spitsbergen and closely observes what is happening to the Arctic and how man approaches this remote place today. Her works are based on various techniques used in the exploration of the Arctic landscape, and repeatedly address the inability of humans to expose themselves to the hostile conditions that prevail there without technical aids, and to comprehend what is there with the human senses. Thus the use of drones, of radar and other measuring techniques plays a role in her works.

A central work in the exhibition is a monumental ink lavur by Tanya Poole (b. 1971 in St John's (Newfoundland), Canada), showing a moon against the intense blue of the night sky. To the right of it, an ochre moth, in the form of another painting, flutters away. Poole's works are of an extraordinary sensuality and in their making chance plays a decisive role - a counterpoint to the almost scientific-looking works of Lena von Goedeke. Yet the background to Tanya Poole's works is also a scientific one: for a long time, the French-based artist has been studying moths, their habitat and their perceptual world, and she is particularly fascinated by the fact that these insects see in intense shades of blue in the dark.

In the paintings of Caroline von Grone (*1963 in Hanover), trees appear like actors on stage and come to a life all their own. The powerful lines and the partly motivically dissolved colors create an unexpected aura, reminiscent of nature cult legends and myths, which seem to tell of hidden life in nature. The trees sometimes seem like a closely entwined couple, rooted in place, unable to free themselves from their precarious position.

Simone Nieweg (*1962 in Bielefeld) has photographed lakes, ponds or the Baltic Sea in her series of water bodies, focusing in particular on motifs that move between pristine nature, cultivation and renaturation. In their motifs, imagery, and atmosphere, her images are in part based on art-historical predecessors. For example, her "Buchen an der Ostsee IV" (Beeches on the Baltic Sea IV) is reminiscent of Caspar David Friedrich's paintings, and indeed the artist is interested in whether and to what extent feelings of awe and sublimity in the face of nature are still relevant today.
installation view, Lena von Goedeke, Lucinda Devlin
Lena von Goedeke
Tanya Poole
Caroline von Grone
Simone Nieweg