Weekly Inspiration ✨
Artist: Albert Oehlen
In the exhibition Interieurs we will present new large-scale works on canvas by Albert Oehlen made of cut-outs from advertising posters, mostly for German and Spanish supermarkets, as to be found on billboards.
When in 2008 Albert Oehlen was asked why he had recourse to fragments of advertising posters in his new paintings, he answered: “I wanted emotions! At some points, I had to admit to myself that my approach to art was a bit sober. […] At the same time, I’d always wanted to do Pop Art, big, colourful things with immediate appeal.” (Interview by Max Dax, in: Albert Oehlen 1991-2008, Galerie Max Hetzler and Holzwarth Publications, Berlin, 2008).
The ‘trashiness’ of the advertisements is now all over the picture. “It seems that these days there are more advertisements that are anything but ‘sophisticated’, that just scream at you, adverts that foreground a ghastly red and yellow contrast, where white block capitals are given a black drop shadow. Blatant piles of consumer articles of one sort or another”, says Albert Oehlen (idem). This material is precisely the starting point of Oehlen’s new works. (from Galerie Max Hetzler)
