“The best the artist gives is a reflection of what he loves.” Ernst Eckstein
In our spring exhibition two colourful worlds meet in the galerie gugging. Freely following the motto differences attract, Hannes Lehner and the Gugging Artist Manuel Griebler create a successful symbiosis that is contagious – two artists who could hardly be more different in their expression. One could assume that they live on different planets or in completely different worlds. What unites them is their vividly coloured way of working, which immediately puts you in a joyful state.
Both are aspiring artists in their 30s and are passionate about working on papers of varying sizes. While the Gugging Artist Manuel Griebler has so far found his favourite material with works on paper and in the process has also discovered his love for multi-part complete works, Hannes Lehner produces – in addition to works on paper – car sculptures made of paperboard, which he also paints, corresponding to their original models. The artist is an ideal complement to the Gugging Artists and fits in perfectly with his flatness in the application of colour and not least his highly complex objects.
Hannes Lehner describes himself as a motor enthusiast, who, as he says, inherited this passion from his father. With meticulous precision, he devotes himself to the elaborate replication of his racing cars. He even designs the inner life of his cars down to the smallest detail, which remains hidden from the viewer because the artist closes the paperboard vehicles again after the work is done. Lehner is an accomplished car connoisseur and enjoys talking about the different makes of cars … his eyes start to shine. The artist began drawing in his childhood and since 2005 his works have been exhibited at regular intervals. His works on paper captivate with their skillful simplicity. Monochrome landscapes, in which Lehner, with great feeling for the available space, places the objects of his choice – mostly cars or houses with and without walls. At first glance, these seem reduced, perhaps even simple, but on closer inspection they turn out to be complex pictorial compositions that immediately captivate the viewer. For Hannes Lehner, an artist is a person who tries something out. And for this reason, it may well be that in the future he will increasingly turn to the depiction of animals or male nudes.
“Art is the strongest form of individualism the world knows.” Oscar Wilde
On the other side, the works of Manuel Griebler are dominated by small heads, which, looking in all directions, spread across the sheet. Between the heads idiosyncratic figures, rainbows, showers, suns, smileys, cranes and what else comes to the artist’s mind find their place. All these spontaneous creations make the work for Griebler so exciting. The Gugging Artist gives free rein to his imagination; his dense works, which are also very colour-intensly, are intense and he loves to conjure them up on the page with high pressure. He creates the works, some of which are reminiscent of “Wimmelbilder”, works in which much can be discovered, completely free “just so” with pencils and coloured pencils – virtually out of nowhere. The ideas just flow through him and find expression in very contemporary compositions on paper. Inspired by an exhibition at the museum gugging, where Griebler’s largest work to date consisting of four parts, was exhibited, the artist wanted to go one step further. This resulted in his largest creation to date, a work consisting of twelve individual sheets. He has devoted four to five concentrated days to each of these sheets – with the clear goal of bringing his greatest work to date to life. Griebler is satisfied with the result, and we are pleased to show this exceptional work for the first time in our spring exhibition hannes lehner & manuel griebler “simplicity | complexity”.
Life is filled with pairs of opposites: above and below, left and right, warm and cold, fullness and emptiness … Lehner & Griebler. As different as the two artists are both in essence and artistic expression, in this exhibition we experience them together and they complement each other in a stimulating way. Contemplative calm meets chaotic vividness and enters into an exciting dialogue.
