Satellites Cast No Shadow

Matthias Groebel – curated by Andreas Selg

Info: Cologne in 1990. Over a decade of painting’s temperamental, triumphant and facetious return has resulted in what, with reference to the work of Martin Kippenberger, has been called the post-studio practice. This means that paintings achieve their true value and significance only after they leave the studio and emulsify with the artist’s persona as it is performed in the art scene, a particular network of people and locations which (mal-)functions by the Domino-logic of if you know, you know. The problem with that, of course, is that over time you forget what exactly it is you know and how you know it. What is a painting, really, and what does it do? It was in this context, where the material reality of the painting was all but overwhelmed by the subjectivity of the artist, that Matthias Groebel stopped painting, and built a machine, which would remove from the canvas, once and for all, the human touch.