1 April to 29 August 2021
FORESTA NERA – An exhibition of selected works by Friedemann Hahn
Museum für Neue Kunst
Large formats and bold colours applied with rapid brushstrokes are the salient features of Friedemann Hahn’s paintings (b. 1949). Their various titles, such as “Painting and Guns”, “Glauser”, “Le Samourai”, or “Lichtung (after E. L. Kirchner)”, embody diverse, complex frames of reference. Hahn's work revolves around stories drawn from literature, art and the temperaments of individual artists, the milestones of film noir, as well as troves of works from popular culture. Hahn is particularly fascinated by modern legends about people who wander along the brink of their individual social event horizons, a theme he negotiates anew time andtime again.
In a compact presentation of his paintings, the Museum für Neue Kunst is showing works from its own holdings, supplemented by loans from the artist. In a room that normally houses the museum's permanent collection, the show endeavours to present an outline sketch of the painter, who is an avid moviegoer and bibliophile.
Friedemann Hahn is intimately connected to the region; the southern Black Forest was the epicentre of his life and work for a long time. Born in Singen am Hohentwiel, he studied painting at the Freiburg Branch of the State Academy in Karlsruhe under Peter Dreher and at the Academy in Düsseldorf under K. O. Götz. He was appointed professor of painting at the Kunsthochschule Mainz in 1991, where he taught painting until 2014. He now lives in Schleswig-Holstein where he writes, paints and goes for long walks with his dog “Käpt’n”.
A German-English reader will be published to accompany the exhibition. Along with numerous illustrations, it contains texts by eight authors with highly individual takes on Friedemann Hahn's visual world.
