NEW YORK, NY - GALLERY twenty-four announced this week that it is presenting new works from the Berlin artist Pablo von Lichtenberg. In his new body of works the artist employs an experimental technique which he calls Pellkollage , German for pealed collage. In executing this multi-step technique the artist utilizes various mixed media to juxtapose images on acrylic sheets, thereby creating transparent, multi-layered collages.
These new works are a major diversion from the artist's better known RASA series of three dimensional mixed media assemblages. In "Out of the Dark", von Lichtenberg confronts the social and moral influence that religion, materialism and hyper-consumerism plays in our society and political systems. He addresses such issues as the violent influence that organized religion has played throughout history and the inherent dangers associated with such fanaticism, whether Christian, Judaic or Muslim.
The series itself reflects many of the internalized personal conflicts the artist has with such subject matter as brought about by his own upbringing in a Southern Baptist environment. With his departure from the United States in 1992, von Lichtenberg began to re-evaluate the role that the American way of life imposes upon the global community. Many of his personal convictions are evident in this body of works.
Von Lichtenberg's Pellkollages evoke a playful, yet somewhat unintended, mockery of Warhol's repetitive use of pop imagery as the foundation for the subject matter of each piece albeit without employing mechanical reproduction of the images onto the surface itself. The thematic nature of each piece offers the viewer the opportunity to be reflective about many of the current events that touch their lives, while providing stimuli to probe the questions surrounding the issues themselves. Often times, the issues addressed by the artist reflect societal taboos or areas where the general public is intentionally kept in the dark. Through the use of provocative imagery, combined with a high level of energetic impulsiveness and the incorporation of real-world elements reminiscent of Rauschenberg, von Lichtenberg sets out to capture his audience’s critical imagination, open dialog of forbidden topics and inject a catalyst for discovering contemporary solutions through visual commentary on a media saturated culture struggling to come to grips with age old conflicts.
The overall scale of the collages themselves, some as large as 12 foot long by 5 foot wide, combined with the experimental nature of the technique, lend to a revolutionary development in the artist's mastery of his collage based medium. Out of the Dark will be on exhibition in GALLERY twenty-four / New York until January 31, 2008 before the show travels to Paris and Berlin.
EXHIBITION: December 13, 2007 – January 31, 2008
LOCATION: DUMBO, Brooklyn at 111 Front Street
