Uwe Wittwer Libros

When Uwe Wittwer visited the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford in 2017, he was fascinated by a peculiar display. The 94 Dutch still lifes, all from the 17th century, collected by Daisy Linda and Theodore W. H. Ward and donated in 1939, are presented densely hung in one gallery. According to the will of the donors, the collection must always be shown in its sprawling entirety. The Ward Collection and its presentation inspired Wittwer to an artistic “update.” All in the exact size of the originals, he transferred each painting into his own artistic language. All 94 Spoils of Ward are reproduced in the exhibition catalogue and accompanied by an essay by Lena Fritsch, curator at the Ashmolean Museum.

DurƯing the SecƯond World War, numerƯous cultural assets were either disƯplaced or destroyed. Many art treasures remain lost today. Swiss artist Uwe Wittwer takes up this still incomplete chapƯter of recent history in the framework of his fourth solo show at Galerie Judin, showƯing around 100 new works. The seƯries 'Im WiderƯschein?Scherben' brings together the thematic conƯcerns that have shaped Wittwer?s work over the past 25 years, linkƯing his interrogaƯtion of the canon of art history to an interƯest in fugacƯity, loss, and the fadƯing of memƯory. NonetheƯless, this is not a nosƯtalgic search for traces, but a study of the power of images and the endurance of standards of art history. With his paintings and waterƯcolƯors, Wittwer combines the artisƯtic past and preƯsent in impresƯsive visual creƯations. Based on a canon of styles and motifs familƯiar to us from the pivƯotal colƯlecƯtions of EuroƯpean art, he creƯates an endurƯing sense of unsettleƯment, openƯing aesƯthetic and motivic interƯsƯtices. The artist?s declared goal is to lead the beholder to the space between the familƯiar and the unfaƯmilƯiar.00Exhibition: Galerie Judin, Berlin, Germany (30.04.-18.06.2016)

Uwe Wittwer (b. 1954 in Zurich) inquires into and disrupts expectations and viewing habits. The entrancing beauty and sensuousness of his paintings and watercolors lure the viewer into a world of ambiguity. Only a second glance reveals that the apparent aesthetic innocence of the middle class he portrays is actually a kind of latent horror. Captured in a blur, the still lifes, interiors, landscapes, and portraits avoid obvious interpretation, so that the question of what is "real" and what is "fake," where the façade or razzle-dazzle begins and ends, remains open. Fascinated by the imagery of the Old Masters, Wittwer digitally processes the source materials he takes from the Internet and lends them a sense of texture by means of paint, canvas, and paper.