To Return to Base

This exhibition brought together works of art which, in our opinion, unambiguously shows the way to the exceptional autonomy of the work of art and to the absolute freedom of the artist. We perceive the artist as an individual who traces out a route towards a coherent view on art, culture and the world. This is the topical essence of the art of Tony Cragg, Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Günther Förg, Imi Knoebel and Gerhard Merz.
Their work appears innovative to us, their output seems unique, their opinions fundamental, their attitude compromiseless, their art epoch-making. In their creativity, they treat aesthetics as fundamental value in life. They precede us in the road to art. All five of them are characterized, in their personality as well as in their work, by a powerful ‘no-nonsense’ attitude. Every single one of them makes an appeal on the smallest, to that which is directly available, to that which is honest. Formally, their art consists of very little, their art stands for an openness which disarms and shines in its simplicity. Their art is not rhetorical or sophisticated, it is simple and therefore of a great poetry.