Photo: Dirk Tacke
Photo: Dirk Tacke
Photo: Dirk Tacke
Photo: Dirk Tacke
IM PORTRAIT
The portrait, both as a classical medium of individual representation and in its abstract, fragmented, and digital forms, remains a compelling theme in contemporary art. Our exhibition IM PORTRAIT brings together a diverse group of artists who examine the face as an artifact—probing its cultural, psychological, and technological dimensions.
Ilit Azoulay confronts the legacy of hysteria in her photographic project Mousework. Through 35 triptychs, she investigates the role of photography in constructing female stereotypes—juxtaposing historical imagery from Jean-Martin Charcot’s 19th-century studies with contemporary online search results. Her work questions visual conventions and the persistence of gendered narratives.
Phoebe Derlee presents emotionally charged self-portraits painted with bold, expressive brushstrokes. Her figures, often placed against vivid monochrome backgrounds, hover between familiarity and estrangement. Her work explores the malleability of the human body, dissolving the line between strength and vulnerability.
Hannes Heinrich draws inspiration from Paul Thek’s Portrait of Peter Hujar, fragmenting his own silhouette across a grid structure. The result is a series of shifting appearances that oscillate between visibility and withdrawal—expressing the tension between self-exposure and self-concealment.
Oliver Laric utilizes digital technologies such as 3D scanning and printing to question concepts of originality and historical continuity. His translucent sculpture Jüngling vom Magdalensberg explores the fluid boundary between the ancient and the contemporary, emphasizing transparency, digital abstraction, and the disintegration of material identity.
Juergen Staack addresses language, memory, and identity in his mirror-based series Unserdeutsch, which engages with the endangered creole language of the same name spoken in Papua New Guinea. By reflecting on the fragility of communication and self-perception, Staack evokes the ephemerality of cultural heritage.
Alongside these positions, works by Gregor Hildebrandt, Karin Kneffel, Oliver Laric, Janina Roider, Eva Schlegel, and Sybille Springer contribute to a rich dialogue on the role of the portrait in our image-saturated present—where the face continues to be a site of projection, control, and transformation.
Karin Kneffel
Dyptich, 2023, oil on canvas, two pieces, 120 x 100 cm each
Eva Schlegel
Untitled (151), 2007, silkscreen on lead, 1/5 (Ed. 5 + 2 AP), 80 x 60 cm
Eva Schlegel
untited (015), 2000, lambda print, 5/5 (Ed. 5 + 2 AP), 120 x 80 cm
Gregor Hildebrandt
Je bois systématiquement (Boris Vian), 2022, digital pigment print mounted on aluminium, 53 x 43 cm
Janina Roider
untitled (Amy), 2016, acrylic and lacquer on canvas, 170 x 140 cm
Ilit Azoulay
Marie (case 5590), 2020, inkjet print and acrylic mounting, 51 x 70 x 5 cm
Hannes Heinrich
Selfie (Hide), 2025, charcoal and oil on canvas, 120 x 90 cm
Hannes Heinrich
Selfie (Peter/Paul), 2025, charcoal and oil on canvas, 120 x 90 cm
Oliver Laric
Jüngling vom Magdalensberg, 2018, stereolithography and selective laser sintering, polyamide, polished epoxy, TuskXC2700T, aluminium base, 255 x 82 x 45 cm
Pheoebe Derlee
Cold Phoebe and Hot Coffee, 2025, oil on canvas, 76 61 cm
Phoebe Derlee
Phoebe Resting, 2025, oil on canvas in artist's frame, 61 x 76 cm
Sibylle Springer
Rosa Bonheuer, 2025, white primer on canvas, 50 x 40 cm
Juergen Staack
Chris K., 2023, Pigmentprint, Kincsem Folie, Ed. 1/3, 50 x 40 cm
Further exhibitions
