Nine exhibitors show “Kunst International” on Lohstraße
By Annemarie Baumann
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This article was published in German. The original text opens in a new tab in the German section of this website.
Mettmann – As a contribution to the events week “Me ’83 International”, the Kunsthaus is showing paintings, drawings and prints by nine artists of different nationalities living in Germany.
Given the frequently cited “hostility toward foreigners”, it may come as a surprise that there are also light-hearted, cheerful works on show, such as the colorful examples of naive painting with rural motifs by the Yugoslav artist Ljubica Zglavnik. The stylized landscapes of the Turkish artist Gönül Sen, with their clusters of trees and little houses, also live from the effect of light and intense color. The Belgrade-born artist Mirjana Prokic is represented with impressions of her homeland as well and an expressive portrait.
Art as a medium of criticism, as a way of drawing the viewer’s attention and raising awareness of particular concerns: this motivation is clearly recognizable in the other two exhibition rooms of the Kunsthaus. Four untitled colored pen-and-ink drawings by the Turkish artist Sebahattin Sen look downright threatening in the delicate entanglement of lines from which bodies and crowds emerge. His compatriot Ihsan Ece created collages from press headlines, documentary relics and drawn elements – depictions of what “xenophobia” can mean. His large-format painting “Human Landscapes” is impressive too.
The series of ink drawings by the Spaniard Enric Rabasseda, titled “Representatives”, looks like caricature, depicting authorities from church dignitaries to the “profileless”, functioning contemporary with a mechanical wind-up key. The Italian Guiseppe Medagli created airy, vague compositions with his brush drawings, while Julijana Djordjevic’s acrylic paintings show pronounced brush structures in which nature is dynamically re-created. The only German exhibitor is Gerhard Heinke, who is represented with Greek dance motifs, among other things. The exhibition runs until June 10, open daily between 5 and 8 p.m.
