Die Stummen und die Schreienden

Bamberg
Jul 16 — Sep 04, 2021

The AOA;87 Gallery offers an open-minded platform for established and emerging contemporary artists in the heart of Bamberg. The next highlight in the program is the duo exhibition “Die Stummen und die Schreienden” featuring Cornelia Schleime and Margarete Adler. 

Award-winning painter Cornelia Schleime takes on the “loud” role in the exhibition, unleashing the expressive power of oversized portraits. Thick paint application, a crescendo of tones, and compositional surprises are just a few of the stylistic elements captivating viewers. Divided into “Heads,” “Masks,” and “Braids,” she interprets her subjects with a fresh perspective, adding new aspects. She tackles abysses, desires, and prejudices, sometimes critically, sometimes with a wink. 

As an artist, Cornelia Schleime aims to dissolve the boundaries between the outer and inner worlds. “What gives me stability is the unpredictable, irrational, fragile, random, eruptive.” From the disparity between attacker and threatened, reality and fantasy world emerges a work like “Halt die Luft an”.

Schleime is one of Germany’s most significant contemporary painters, having received numerous scholarships and awards. Her paintings are part of collections worldwide, such as the Getty Museum, Los Angeles, or the Gemäldegalerie of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden. Since 1983, Schleime has had over 80 solo exhibitions and more than 200 group exhibitions. 

The exhibition will debut the cycle “Mutterliebe” by emerging artist Margarete Adler. The cycle consists of six sculptures depicting subjects from infancy to old age. Emotional wounds thread through the cycle. The darker sides of motherly love take center stage: excessive care, emotional deprivation, a compulsive system of outdated values and ideals, a destructive life credo, the rift with the mother, and finally, the need for healing. 

“I want to visualize inner states, make emotions and abysses visible. The pain is not superficially visible but deeper. The viewer should draw parallels.” 

The artist has participated in various exhibitions in the past, including at the Galerie Michael Schultz, Galerie Woeske, and Cologne Art Fair. Her works are held in public and private collections such as the Sberbank Collection Russia, Morgen & Stern Collection, Germany, and Buddenbrookhaus Collection, Germany. “Margarete Adler is one of the most exciting discoveries in the field of veristic sculpture,” says gallery owner Angela Kohlrusch, adding, “I am incredibly proud and see tremendous potential in our collaboration.”