The starting point for our group exhibition TIERISCH is the work ‘The Unsung Citizen’ by Hong Kong and London-based artist Cheuk Yiu Lo (born 1998). Lo won our 11th ART MATTERS online competition on the theme of ‘Animalistic’ in the summer of 2024 with her sculpture, which is being shown in the gallery for the first time. In addition to Lo, we are exhibiting works by Markus Fräger, Richard Helbin, Beate Höing, Vanessa Luschmann, Jiří Mayer and Moritz Moll.

The painter Markus Fräger (born in Hamm in 1959) died in Cologne on 17 August 2020 following a serious and protracted illness. His paintings were dense chamber plays, marked by his love for his family and friends, music and cinema. Fräger studied at the University of Fine Arts in Braunschweig, as well as art history and archaeology at the University of Münster. Most recently, he had his studio in a former vinegar factory in Cologne. His paintings have been exhibited at the Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg, the Kunsthalle Koblenz, the Kunstverein Unna in 2019, and most recently in a major retrospective at the Museum Schloss Cappenberg from April to September 2023. Click here for further information.

In his works, Richard Helbin (born in Poland in 1980, lives and works in Düsseldorf) evokes long-lost values, which he interweaves with images of homoerotic longing. From tapestries and bronze casts of crocheted sculptures to meticulously crafted miniatures, the artist uses techniques that once made entire cities and regions rich, but which today have no economic significance as crafts. Click here for further information.

The sculptural and painterly works of Beate Höing (*1966, lives and works in Coesfeld, DE) reveal a highly poetic, sometimes ironic view of the past, recounting memories, dreams and surreal worlds, often with a humorous wink. Inspired by ornaments and materiality as cultural-historical components of folk art, by fairy tales and myths, as well as traditions and rituals, these influences appear in a completely independent iconography. Click here for further information.

Cheuk Yiu Lo works primarily in the fields of sculpture and installation, exploring various materials such as stone, wood, steel, fibreglass, resin, paper and cement. In her practice, Lo examines and reflects on real-life experiences, personal emotions and the language of materials. The artist explores the complex relationship between civilisation and nature, inner thoughts and the outside world. Click here for further information.

Vanessa Luschmann's work focuses on the expression of emotion – both on an individual and collective level. Luschmann (*1990, live and works in Munich) uses autobiographical material and transforms it into a portrayal of contemporary times and the state of a generation through her perspective, offering the viewer solidarity in the shared feeling of vulnerability. Click here for further information.

Jiří Mayer (born in 1990 in Trebic, CZ, lives and works in Brno, CZ) is known for his characteristic pixelated imagery and his main artistic theme of animals. To create his works, he first uses Windows Paint (a “modern” technology that has already become a relic of the past), enlarging sketches and transferring the resulting shapes onto canvas in acrylic. Click here for further information.

Moritz Moll (*1991) completed his painting studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich (AdBK) in 2021. His works have already been shown in several exhibitions in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, Switzerland and the Netherlands. In his paintings, Moll explores the interstices of everyday life, intimate moments of being unobserved, of drifting off, of concentration. Using oil, acrylic and spray colours on canvas, the artist captures the intimacy of the everyday. His works transport the viewer into calm yet vivid daydreams. Click here for further information.