HARD | EDGE
HARD | EDGE
Tobias Grewe
November 21, 2014 - January 11, 2015
OPENING RECEPTION
Friday, November 21, 2014, 7:00 - 9:00 PM
CLOSING RECEPTION & NEW YEAR'S RECEPTION
Sunday, January 11, 2015, 2:00 - 5:00 PM
OPENING HOURS
Mon - Wed 12 - 6 PM // Thu - Fri 12 - 8 PM
The second exhibition at the new Daab Salon features Cologne-based photographer Tobias Grewe (born 1975 in Arnsberg), who was previously highlighted in the acclaimed Daab publication "RISING Young Artists to Keep an Eye On!" (edited by Olaf Salié) in 2011. With his abstract photographs that reference architectural situations in urban spaces, Grewe deliberately seeks a connection to other areas of visual art. In this context, the painterly tendencies of the 1950s and 60s in the United States and Europe play a significant role.
The title of the exhibition alludes to the so-called "Hard Edge" painting of the American West Coast, which emerged as a counter-movement to Abstract Expressionism. Unlike the gestural, emotionally charged works of artists like Jackson Pollock and Clifford Still, "Hard Edge" painting is characterized by a stencil-like, flat, geometric form with sharp edges. Closely related to this predominantly Californian art movement are the works of various German artists from the post-war period to the present, such as Günter Fruhtrunk, Blinky Palermo, and Imi Knoebel, whose influence is evident in Grewe's new works.
A highlight of the current exhibition is the artist's first video work. Like his previous images and expansive installations, this new video piece also references everyday architectural structures in urban environments. Meditative and silent, the work opens up entirely new artistic dimensions for the artist, complementing, expanding, and enriching his visual world in unexpected ways.
Whether through his "Refractions" and "Faltungen," the ongoing "Hard Edge" series, or his new exploration in video art, the artist consistently aims for new, innovative visual experiences. With his predominantly colorful abstract works, Tobias Grewe seeks to carefully filter the essential from everyday visual experiences. He describes his working method as "abstraction through reduction." This is part of an artistic process characterized by over- or underexposure, unusual perspectives, and extreme cropping. A new aspect of Grewe's work is the assembly of multiple pieces into a cohesive composition. Variations on a formal or color theme reveal through this process the diverse possibilities that arise from slight shifts in perspective or light value during the act of photography.
Since September 2014, the DAAB SALON has been regularly presenting exhibitions, lectures, artist talks, and other events related to the program of the Cologne-based Daab Verlag, which enjoys an international reputation in the fields of art, architecture, design, and fashion. The curator of the DAAB SALON is freelance author and exhibition maker Gérard A. Goodrow, whose current publication "Passages. Indian Art Today" (co-edited with Julia Ritterskamp) was released by Daab in September 2014.