JOHANNES KAHRS

In recent years, Kahrs has experimented more with the materiality of paint. He stillstarts out either from a photographic reality or a drawing but questions the narrative byapproaching his source material in a new way. In doing so he combines different workmethods: body parts are enlarged, imaginary details are added, parts of the canvas areblurred or the paint is stripped off. He allows more imagination into his working processand makes the materiality of the paint part of the subject. The title of the exhibitionrefers to the first two sentences of Arthur Rimbaud’s poem ‘Le Bateau Ivre’. The wordsdescribe an alienating feeling reminding Kahrs of his own creative process: starting towork without knowing where he will end up.

In this exhibition, the artist presents a striking number of portraits. Both unknown peopleand famous figures appear on the canvas. However, it is not the person representedthat is the subject of the work, but rather the way the character is publicly portrayed.It is the facial expression, the body posture or the way of moving that intrigues Kahrs:as if they are part of a theatre play. The gaze is an important element in Kahrs’ work asit creates a tension between the image and the viewer, raising questions about the actof looking and sometimes turning the observer into a voyeur.

Johannes Kahrs has previously had solo exhibitions at FRAC Île-de-France, Paris(2016), Kunsthalle Nürnberg (2014), Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (2013), ArtCentre PasquArt, Biel (2012), GAMeC, Bergamo (2007), Parasol Unit for ContemporaryArt, London (2006), Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin (2002), FRAC Pays de la Loire,Carquefou (2001), Kunstverein München (2001) and S.M.A.K., Ghent (2001).

The work of Johannes Kahrs is included in the public collections of Centre Pompidou,Paris, MOCA, Los Angeles, MoMA, New York, UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles,S.M.A.K., Ghent, FRAC Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin,SFMOMA, San Francisco, FRAC Picardie, Amiens, FRAC Pays de la Loire, Carquefou,Fundaçao de Serralves, Porto, and others.