Ila Wingen, Steffen Blunk, Michael Koch, and Jochen Schlick have been working together for a long time. Figurative representations are their common basis. The four have now reached a level of intimacy that allows them to open up and get to the bottom of each other’s works without prejudice.

The exhibition is about discoveries that can be found beneath the surface of artworks. The works always contain refractions that give the viewer the opportunity to think about their own interpretation. Viewing habits and conventions are questioned. Dealing with the different points of view of the exhibitors offers the opportunity to question and change one’s own attitudes.

In cooperation with the Stiftung Reinbeckhallen.

Participating artists

Ila Wingen’s fundamental themes are her own body as well as that of others in relation to “space”. Space refers here to the area of ​​tension between private and public. The body per se is questioned: its form, its expression, its belonging and the dialogue that arises through the body itself. Painting, abstract, concrete, figurative up to the installation of objects are some the artist’s means of expression.

In his paintings, Steffen Blunk examines how ideal-typical women see themselves and others. By carving the figures out of paintings made on wood, Blunk uncovers deeper layers – literally in the wood, symbolically under the skin. And so he breaks up the flawlessness of the surface and shows vulnerable, injured things behind it.

Due to the ceramic material, the sculptures by Michael Koch initially seem like images of fossils or larvae. He is concerned with the question: what could be? What might they have looked like, the first beings, when they left the ocean millions of years ago? His figures are full of sensuality and stimulate the viewer’s imagination.

With painting and photography, Jochen Schlick takes up the change in dealing with desire and the search for closeness in the digital age. He addresses the constant poses of users on Instagram and Co. and breaks them with irony. The characters may be sexy, but as self-portrayals they come across as anything but confident.