ASR 9/16

The figurative watercolors by Achim Riethmann (b. 1979, lives and works in Berlin) are extremely precisely drawn and very aesthetic. But even at second glance, this beautiful appearance is broken: Your subjects - e.g. masked people, depictions of plants or technical equipment - are shown fragmented and decontextualized on a white background. Central objects are not shown. Voids come into focus. Current socio-political issues such as changes in social structures and value systems or the position of humans within their natural environment are examined. In their incomplete representation, the works also reflect our subjective and always incomplete view of reality.

The young artist's first extensive monographic publication brings together illustrations of watercolors and installations that have been created since 2009. It contains texts by Isabelle Meiffert and Raimar Stange as well as a conversation between the artist and his former professor Leiko Ikemura.