Norbert Prangenberg
Kiss The Beast
Galerie Fons Welters - Playstation
25 Jun – 31 Jul 2011
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Norbert Prangenberg (born in Rommerskirchen-Nettesheim, Germany, in 1949) has adopted a working method that reflects his training as a craftsman. A qualified goldsmith and a self-taught painter, Prangenberg explores the formal potential of paint on the two-dimensional surface. It is not strange that he identifies in that respect with someone like Robinson Crusoe, a central character in one of his series. Set against a near-monochrome background, the letters R.O.B.I.N.S.O.N appear − as if it was the fictional solitary outsider who had signed the painting and emerged from the myth surrounding him.
Although it is true that for each new painting Prangenberg embarks on an intuitive and sometimes almost naive search for a new pictorial form, there is nonetheless a distinct unity in his works, arising from their tactile quality. The oil paint is applied in thick, impasto layers, like modelled clay, with the brushstrokes always remaining conspicuous. It is the diversity of supports, ranging from canvas and cardboard to diverse metals, that determine the painting’s eventual tactility. By adding small details, such as the letters of ‘Robinson’, Prangenberg breaks open the formalistic point of departure of his art. In Abstrakt (2009), for instance, he adds a second abstract area of colour within his work, literally creating a painting-within-a-painting. The primary focus of Tengu is a head with a long nose, an allusion to the eponymous (friendly) legendary creature of Japanese legend. Every element literally adds a second layer and suggests a narrative and symbolic context. At the same time, the additional elements are like tiny jewels set against the coarsely painted impasto background.
Norbert Prangenberg has held a professorship in Sculpture at the Art Academy in Munich since 1993. Recent solo exhibitions of his work include shows at Kunstmuseum Kloster Unser Lieben Frauen, Magdeburg (2008); Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe (2005) and Kaiser-Wilhelm-Museum, Krefeld (2004). He also exhibits with Ancient and Modern (London), Produzentengalerie (Hamburg) and Karsten Greve (Paris and Cologne) and has had a solo show at Betty Cunningham Gallery, New York (2010).
Although it is true that for each new painting Prangenberg embarks on an intuitive and sometimes almost naive search for a new pictorial form, there is nonetheless a distinct unity in his works, arising from their tactile quality. The oil paint is applied in thick, impasto layers, like modelled clay, with the brushstrokes always remaining conspicuous. It is the diversity of supports, ranging from canvas and cardboard to diverse metals, that determine the painting’s eventual tactility. By adding small details, such as the letters of ‘Robinson’, Prangenberg breaks open the formalistic point of departure of his art. In Abstrakt (2009), for instance, he adds a second abstract area of colour within his work, literally creating a painting-within-a-painting. The primary focus of Tengu is a head with a long nose, an allusion to the eponymous (friendly) legendary creature of Japanese legend. Every element literally adds a second layer and suggests a narrative and symbolic context. At the same time, the additional elements are like tiny jewels set against the coarsely painted impasto background.
Norbert Prangenberg has held a professorship in Sculpture at the Art Academy in Munich since 1993. Recent solo exhibitions of his work include shows at Kunstmuseum Kloster Unser Lieben Frauen, Magdeburg (2008); Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe (2005) and Kaiser-Wilhelm-Museum, Krefeld (2004). He also exhibits with Ancient and Modern (London), Produzentengalerie (Hamburg) and Karsten Greve (Paris and Cologne) and has had a solo show at Betty Cunningham Gallery, New York (2010).