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ARTS & cULTURE
Harm Gerdes:
Panorama
March 9, 2023
Solo exhibition of Harm Gerdes (b. 1994, Germany), ≪Panorama; Panorama» is being held at PERES PROJECTS until April 6, 2023 (Thursday). This exhibition is the very first solo exhibition of the artist being held in Korea. Derived from the exploration of new themes, seven new paintings utilizing various colors and compositions are presented. Fascinated by the motif of ‘door’, Gerdes tries to organize the logic of physical space through works depicting thresholds, archways, and entrances in a unique way. Influenced by authentic German abstract art, his works give the impression of swimming in a three-dimensional virtual world with clean surfaces that reflect light, harmony of curves and straight lines, and spatial depth.
Harm Gerdes. Courtesy PERES PROJECTS, Berlin, Seoul, and Milan
Courtesy PERES PROJECTS, Berlin, Seoul, and Milan
In this exhibition, Gerdes uses abstract symbols and various 'forms' to explore unique ideas by expressing a mysterious world based on imagination. The works reveal the way the artist's inner world works from a broad perspective, like a psychological and spiritual panorama.
The motifs he explores are abstract, but their unique forms sometimes imply real objects and serve as a bridge between the inner psychological part and the outer physical real world.
Harm Gerdes Fixateur, 2022. Courtesy PERES PROJECTS, Berlin, Seoul, and Milan
Gerdes embodies a unique visual language that imitates and distorts the logic of space, which is reminiscent of precedents in art history, such as Italian Renaissance painting and metaphysical painting of the early 20th century. Gerdes also pays attention to the perspective of the audience. He takes a structural approach, creating a kind of illusion of depth and space even on a flat canvas.
In addition, he did not stop at referring to 16th-century visual art or illogical expressions found in metaphysical and surrealistic paintings but sought to better capture the virtual landscapes of the 21st century by expanding his work. The colorful and abstract forms in the work overlap or form layers, and these appearances look like a net of an unrealistic and complex cybernetic system.
Harm Gerdes Kallisthenous, 2022. Courtesy PERES PROJECTS, Berlin, Seoul, and Milan
In Gerdes' work, the viewer can feel the tension between the structural distortion and the flat surface painted with the airbrush. Looking at his work from a compositional point of view, it is possible to discover that a specific movement appears from the central axis of the painting. Also, the screen full of stains and seemingly symmetrical to each other reminds us of a Rorschach card that tests personality with symmetrical ink stains.
However, if you actually look closely at the work, you will find that the shapes are subtly irregular. The colored screen with semi-abstract shapes overlapping each other achieves visual balance by allowing the audience to move their eyes fluidly here and there.
(Left) Harm Gerdes Yin confused Yang, 2022 (Right) Harm Gerdes Pfauenauge, 2022. Courtesy PERES PROJECTS, Berlin, Seoul, and Milan
Like a special landscape that we cannot easily access, these works constitute an abstract 'panorama' of the artist's inner world, fantasy, and metaphysical world, just like the title of the exhibition. This long canvas called panorama surrounds both the exhibition space and the audience in it, and guides them to the ‘door’ leading to the artist’s world of art.
This article was written and contributed by PERES PROJECTS.
Harm Gerdes: Panorama
Exhibition Period: February 16, 2023 (Thursday) - April 6, 2023 (Thursday)
Hours
✔ Tuesday - Friday: 10 AM – 7 PM
✔ Saturday – Sunday: 11AM – 7PM
✔ Closed on Mondays
Venue: PERES PROJECTS (The Shilla Seoul B1), 249 Dongho-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul
Webpage: www.PeresProjects.com
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