Künstlerbahnhof Ebernburg e.V.

Ausstellung and Artist in Residence September- October 2015

Naheblick - Auf den Spuren von William Turner

Ein malerischer Dialog von Pete Clarke and Georg Gartz

Pete Clarke, Liverpool and Georg Gartz, Köln are artists who have made work together since they first met during the Liverpool in Köln  ´Eight Days a Week` cultural festival in 1998. They share similar interests and concerns, to develop relevant contemporary painting, questions of authorship and expressive uses painting language. They decided it would be interesting to experiment and test their habitual conventions and painting practice by challenging each other through collaborative painting. This has been an interesting and thought provoking activity for both artists to energise their own individual practice as they return to their respective studios in Liverpool and Köln.

Clarke and Gartz made a series of well received exhibitions in Great Britain and Germany and then they discussed the relevance of the historic artist Joseph Mallord William Turner, his use of research drawing, almost abstract water colour painting and the colour theory of Goethe to their collaborative practice. They decided then to embark on a new project `Turner`s Travels`  where Clarke and Gartz followed Turner`s footsteps making work at the significant locations where Turner painted in the 19^th Century. Clarke and Gartz first visited the Rivers Rhine and Mosel in 2007, Yorkshire in 2008, Venice in 2009, Isle of Wight in 2010 and Rheinland in 2013.

During Clarke and Gartz research they discovered Turner had followed the River Rhine and Nahe in 1844 and made evocative paintings of Kreuznach, the Rheingrafenstein and Ebernburg. This created the opportunity to apply for the Stipend Residency at the Künsterlerbahnhof in 2015.

Clarke and Gartz then have made a very productive residency in Ebernburg exploring the distinctive `sublime´ landscape of the Rotenfels and the Rheingrafenstein. They could be seen making plein-air paintings by the River Nahe which they then developed into more ambitious experimental paintings for the exhibitions at the Künstlerbahnhof.

The exhibition has been well received with many visitors engaged with the idea of the project. The reception, musical evening and public talk Clarke and Gartz made to contextualise their project against the historical background of Turner`s painting was very well attended and obviously enjoyed giving new insights into how an artist like Turner can be rethought in a contemporary context.

The Residency was a great opportunity for artists like Clarke and Gartz to have the resources and space to rethink their practice in a dramatic landscape. The Künstlerbahnhof provides a large well lit studio, good living accommodation within a large upstairs apartment and a very good exhibition opportunity with a receptive audience. Clarke and Gartz have had a very productive, enjoyable and fascinating time in Ebernburg with good support from the Kunstverein. People have been very kind, encouraging and engaged with the relevance of projects at the Künstlerbahnhof and we would personally recommend this Residency to fellow artists without hesitation.

Pete Clarke, Ebernburg, Germany, October 2015.