When we first exhibited René Wirths’ work around 20 years ago, he painted things as if they were surrounded by invisible boundaries: precisely placed, without borders, on the immaculate surface of the white-primed canvas. He did not use photographs as models, but rather the objects themselves: close and present, with all their scratches, shadows, and reflections. What at first glance appeared to be a picture of “just an object” unfolded upon closer inspection into a web of traces of time and stories of space. They showed a reality that went far beyond the image itself.
Over the years, the things and paintings changed. In the Liquids series (always the same glass filled with different liquids), René Wirths’ style slowly began to break away from strict formal rules. The lines and surfaces of the things found their way out of the object, developing a language that no longer served the object, but the gesture of painting itself. A glass of milk against a white background was the beginning— and with each new glass, he opened up a little more towards the process of painting itself, and thus the white background disappeared, as did the strict borderless setting on the canvas.
And now: Painting Painting – as a celebrating, question and transformation. René Wirths draws on art-historical models, some more famous than others. The once strict images of objects have become colorful, playful dialogues with art. And yet René Wirths remains true to himself with his subtle, alert gaze that observes the world, objects and art itself with a quiet intensity. This opens up a rare opportunity for the spectator: a chance to see the familiar with fresh eyes, to discover and enjoy it anew.
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