On Offer Due to Circumstances

Painting gone out of fashion yet again? Authenticity and individual authorship even more so? Overshadowed by greed, fraud and forgery scandals, the art scene increasingly appears to mistake itself for art.

That said, turning to a painted image is nothing out of the ordinary for a distinguished painter like Heribert C. Ottersbach, who is known for always putting the status of this »uncool« medium to the test. Yet his new pictures are confusing: instead of the usual challenging work complexes, in which he addresses contemporary events, art and cultural history, »trivial« subjects and manageable formats now characterize his current work. He paints still lifes, landscapes, banal architecture, and painted signatures without any obvious relation to each other.

The seemingly »unspectacular« comes to the fore, yet the critical gaze vital to Ottersbach's work remains unchanged and suggests a deeper, profound intention. These are confusions that have become images, and at the same time images of reflections on the impulsive and opposing forces that lead to the creeping alienation of art and the art world.

Artist: Heribert C. Ottersbach
Editor: Ute Eggeling, Michael Beck
Text: FK Blaustein
Design: Beck & Eggeling (Antonia Eggeling)

German, English
Heft, 29,5 x 19,5 cm
24 pages, 44 illustrations

Available works of the artist

Heribert C. Ottersbach, Vor der Garage, 2018, © H.C. Ottersbach + VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Heribert C. Ottersbach, Tropenschatz, Handelsgold und Fehlfarben, 2019, © H.C. Ottersbach + VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Heribert C. Ottersbach, Wartestelle (2), 2018, © H.C. Ottersbach + VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Heribert C. Ottersbach, Kaugummi und Erdnüsse, dazu gerne Solei, 2019, © H.C. Ottersbach + VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Associated exhibition

On offer due to circum­stances

Dusseldorf / 2 September – 29 October 2016

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On offer due to circum­stances

Vienna / 18 November – 10 December 2016

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