Volker Hüller

VOLKER HULLER November 18, 2009 – January 8, 2010 | 11 Rivington St, NY November 16, 2009 – January 8, 2010 | Salon 94 | 12 E. 94th St, NY Curated by Anna-Catharina Gebbers | Organized by Augusto Arbizo

Eleven Rivington and Salon 94 are pleased to present Berlin-based German artist Volker Hüller in a 2-venue exhibition, curated by Anna-Catharina Gebbers and organized by Augusto Arbizo.  An installation with hand-painted etchings and objects will turn Eleven Rivington into an intimate cabinet from November 18th – January 8th. Large-scale painterly collages in metallic shades of silver, paintings and objects will create a heightened atmosphere at Salon 94 from November 16th – January 8th.

The two venues emphasize different bodies of work, but subtle correlations will link both parts of the exhibition and unfold Volker Hüller‘s distinct vocabulary: his work brings together aspects of abstraction, figuration, and decoration towards a painterly practice that encompasses printmaking, painting, collage and sculpture.  Hüller’s series of etchings are individually colored with watercolor and shellac, making each sheet jewel-like and unique.  The large collages, up to seven-by-nine feet in dimension, consist of disparately textured materials from faux fur to patterned leather, which are affixed onto canvas, and then painted in silver oil and lacquer.  Hüller’s three-dimensional objects extend painting beyond the flat surface as painted vases or handmade sculptural heads in porcelain.  Though often inspired by literary or philosophical texts as well as personal experiences, Hueller’s motifs – which include skulls, birds, horses, and androgynous figures set amidst gardens and forests - are rooted in collective visual memory.  While deeply rooted in scenes and images, Hüller pushes his new work to varying degrees of abstraction: particular forms become layered and intertwined, arriving at compositions filled with movement and mystery.  The abstract and geometric patchwork qualities of Hüller’s collages are dense; fractured and broken planes lend a sense of rhythm and unity to variegated elements.  His figures and other representational forms - with references from Lucas Cranach to Klimt, Klee, and Picasso, among others - are brought into the realm of the ornamental while abstraction becomes an harmonizing and balancing element.

Volker Hüller was born 1976 in Forchheim, Germany.  He studied under painter Norbert Schwontkowski at the Academy of Fine Arts, Hamburg and currently lives and works in Berlin.  His exhibitions include individual shows at Grimm Fine Art, Amsterdam; Produzentengalerie, Hamburg; and Anna-Catharina Gebbers | Bibliothekswohnung, Berlin.