Florian Merkel

The artist studied in Leipzig in the mid 80s and now lives in Berlin. His work compares the differences between man’s inner, natural desires with the way human beings actually behave in order to be considered respectable members of society. Those who pursue only their wants are depicted nude, daydreaming or playing, while those upstanding citizens are portrayed in suits, rushing towards unknown destinations or participating in regimented activities.

His work is moving in and out of different mediums of image making. He considers himself more as a photographer than as a painter starting by taking pictures of various models in his studio which he then uses to construct a narrative constellation on his computer. Moving back from digital to manual, he presents the work as an installation combining color pencil drawings, wall painting and photography. They appear as woodcutlike tableaus with a unique space and atmosphere. Rational continuity is scarcely recognizable throughout these stories in which, as in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, realistic senses of scale are constantly ignored. These narratives seem to arise from a strange hybrid world of dream, art, and real life.

The following show in February/March 2006 presented by Friedrich Loock features Yoshihiro Suda, who will also create a site specific installation for this space. Sudas who had a solo show at the Art Institut Chicago in 2003 has recently shown his work at the Louisana Museum Copenhagen, Kunsthalle Graz and Beyeler Foundation Basel.

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Florian Merkel