CLEMENS WOLF

In collaboration with                                    

 

Opening Reception - Friday 24 May, 6-9pm

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25 May –  6 July, 2019 

 

Galerie Clemens Gunzer and McNamara Art Projects are pleased to present the first solo exhibition of Austrian artist Clemens Wolf in Hong Kong. Wolf will show his new body of work, "Expanded Metal Pigment Paintings" on aluminum and canvas alongside his "Line Drawings", created out of parachute lines and resin on paper and which form a part of his Parachute Works series.

 

The title of the show “Out of the Blue“ reflects upon the element of surprise momentum present in much of Wolf’s practice. The works describe Wolf’s interest in capturing a fragile and transient moment while contemplating the nature of fluctuation between figuration and abstraction. Concurrently,  Wolf also explores the viewers’ visual perception of this fluctuation through the use of various contradictory textures.

 

The expanded metal pigment paintings are composed using a piece of expanded metal utilized as a brush. Initially, Wolf places a thick layer of oil paint upon the canvas and then creates a highly texturized monochrome composition by printing the expanded metal into the paint. This process is then completed by adding pigment onto the paint. Thus the final compositions is made without touching the surface of the canvas.

 

The “Line Drawings“ exhibited stem from the artist’s “Parachute Works Series“. Within this series Wolf works within a broad spectrum of artistic disciplines including sculpture, found object, painting and drawing. The line drawings refer to the unforced and unpredictable elements in the process of drawing. The parachute lines are first soaked in resin and then arranged within the artist’s hands before being “thrown“ or dropped onto the paper. This moment is thus unique and can’t be reproduced. This follows Wolfs interest in the unique and fragile moments which embraces an angle of beauty in decay.

 

Clemens Wolf (born 1981 in Vienna) studied painting with Ursula Hübner at the University of Art and Design, Linz. In his artistic practice he deals with the capturing of sui generis moments. At the beginning of this involvement Wolf explored the urban space with its ruins and fences, capturing the beauty of decay and transience in large, monochrome landscape paintings.

 

In his more recent works, the artist has swapped the image for the material. In the series "Parachute Works" that consists of paintings, objects, drawings and sculptures, the artist uses discarded main and reserve parachutes. Initially  arranging them on the canvas, on the wall, or in the room, he then freezes the folds with dyed epoxy resin. For Wolf, the folds are a symbol of the ephemeral and the unique. Similarly, in the series "Expanded Metal Paintings", the material is brought to the fore as well. For these paintings Wolf uses expanded metal as a brush to create abstract paintings. Alongside this, he adds pigment powder onto these works which he calls “Expanded Metal Pigment Painting” as reference to the process. The irretrievable moment is found here in the expressive painting process. The question of figuration and abstraction plays a central role in both groups of works.

 

Clemens Wolf lives and works in Vienna and has exhibited widely internationally including in China, Switzerland, France, Germany and the USA. His work is also part of renowned public collections including the Albertina Museum in Vienna.

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This exhibition is generously supported by the Austrian Consulate General Hong Kong.