Gallery Baton presents <Persona>, the solo exhibition of Axel Geis (b.1970) at its Apgujeong space.
Following
the
ardent
support
of
the
domestic
and
international
art
lovers
on
the
exhibition
Green
Heart
by
Rosa
Loy
( b.
1958),
<Persona>
is
presented
as
part
of
the series
of
exhibitions
that
illuminate
German
contemporary
art,
exemplified
by
Gerhard
Richter
(b.
1932)
and
Neo
Rauch
(b.
1960)
and
pioneering
the
path
of
contemporary
art,
and
it
introduces
a
promising
painter
selected
by
Gallery
Baton.

Born
in
Limburg,
Germany,
in
1970,
Axel
is
relatively
not
as
well
known
in
Asia,
but
the
quality
of
his
works
is
being
recognized
with
International
fame
as
his
works
are
included
in
various
international
collections
and
institutions
like
Centre
Pompidou
of
Paris
and
Rubell
Family
Collection.
Having
studied
at
Mainz
and
Karlsruhe,
he
currently
works
in
Berlin.

Axel
primarily
finds
the
subject
matter
for
his
works
in
the
characters
appearing
in classical
movies. For
him,
the
scenes
spread
by
the characters,
given
the
relationships
between
Individuality
and
social
position
on top
of
the
setting
of
time
and
space
based
on
the
scenario,
become
the
source
of
inspiration.
These scenes
are
selected
by
chance,
thus
they
can
become
the
starting
point
of
the
actual work.
Spontaneity
serves
as
a
parent
body
conceiving
the
work's
theme,
form and
message
in
various
ways
like
in
the
Polaroid
series
of
Robert
Mapplethorpe
(1946-1989)
and spin
paintings
of
Damien
Hirst
(b.
1965).
In
case
of
Axel,
spontaneity
is
expressed
through
the
scenes
in
movies
captured
accidentally
by
the
artist.

The
shape
of
th e
character
re-created
by
the
artist
hints
at
an
impression
of
being
strongly
but
quietly
captivated
to
a
specific
thought
or
being
placed
there
by an
ambiguous
setting.
Intentional
details
and
coarse
omissions
partly
coexist
within
the
characters,
and
they
are
sparingly
explained
only
by
the
clothing
and
surrounding
structures.
Besides,
they
appear
flat
and
become
buried
into
the
mysterious
background
color.
Fascinated
by
the
traditional
painting
style
of
classical
masters
such
as
El
Greco
(1541-1614)
and
Francisco
Goya
(1746-1828),
the
artist
has
strived
to
achieve
contemporary
representation
of
classical
painting
technique
through
subjective
interpretation
and
realization
of
mastery
of
skills
through
subtle
s etting
between
back ground
and
characters,
control
of
light
and
shade
by
the
traces
of
paint brushes,
and
selection
of
colors for
depicting
the
inner
nature.