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Solid As A Rock

January 19, 2006- February 25, 2006

Bendix Harms

Anton Kern Gallery

532 W 20th St

January 3, 2006, New York—For his first solo show in New York, German artist Bendix Harms has created a high-spirited body of large-scale paintings, full of enjoyment, anticipation, and melancholy, which will be exhibited at Anton Kern Gallery from January 19 through February 25, 2006.

Straightforwardly enough, the show is centered around a painting of a bearded man’s face—sensual lips, eyes of gentle sadness—with the show’s title “Solid As A Rock” inscribed on his fluffy white beard. The painting does, in fact, set up all motifs, moods and important life-questions of Harms’ work: love, grief, yearning, and a pointed zest for life. The brushstroke is loose and coarse, the oil paint applied in broad, swift movements, the palette reduced to blues and blacks accentuated with white over-paint. Words are integrated into the composition—all with a decisive disinterest in verisimilitude in favor of spirited emotional communication.

Bendix fittingly comments on his mode of painting stating, “[…] I love artists’ late works—when they display a completely free style because it no longer matters whether their work will earn them applause or a rap over the knuckles. They’re beyond all concepts. And I love artists who anticipate their late work.”

Harms’s paintings depict moments of emotional attention, a man mourning over a dead bird, two owls cuddling in the night sky, a man and his dog gazing at an aircraft that flies into the setting sun. With heart-felt care and thought, Harms creates a provocatively trusting view of the world and of human nature.

Harms lives and works in Hamburg, Germany. His work has been shown in the recent Prague Biennial (2005) and the first Tirana Biennale (2001). In the fall of 2004, he made his New York debut when John Bock invited him to exhibit a group of paintings alongside his own work at Anton Kern Gallery.

A 32-page, fully illustrated catalog entitled “Solid As A Rock” including an interview with the artist will be available.

The exhibition at Anton Kern Gallery opens on Thursday, January 19 and will run through Saturday, February 25, 2005. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am - 6 pm. For further information and images, please contact Christoph Gerozissis or Michael Clifton at tel 212.367.9663, fax 212.367.8135 or email: info@antonkerngallery.com.

Books and DVDs related to artists in this show

Location map  Gallery Anton Kern Gallery Address 532 W 20th St New York (Chelsea) NY, 10011 United States Phone 212-367-9663 Fax 212-367-8135 Hours Tue-Sat 10-6

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