Henning Schwarz, Anja Michaela Kretz – Meisterschüler und Klasse Balkenhol - Ansichten und Einsichten

Die Ausstellung Ansichten und Einsichten ist der Beginn einer neuen Reihe mit dem Titel „Meisterschüler“. Hier stellt die Stern-Wywiol Galerie in unregelmäßigen Abständen Meisterschüler bedeutender zeitgenössischer Bildhauer vor. Den Auftakt machen Henning Schwarz und Anja Wiebelt – Meisterschüler von Stephan Balkenhol.

Stephan Balkenhol studierte bis 1982 an der HfBK in Hamburg und ist ein international erfolgreicher Künstler. In der Hansestadt ist er mit folgenden Werken vertreten: Mann auf Giraffe vor Hagenbeck, Mann und Frau vor der Zentralbibliothek und den Vier Männern auf Bojen auf Außenalster und Elbe.

Anders als ihr Lehrer arbeiten die beiden Künstler nicht als Holzbildhauer.

Henning Schwarz‘ Material ist Stein. Er nimmt sich Gabbro, Diabas oder Marmor und bearbeitet diese zu spiegelglatten Oberflächen. Die Schönheit des Materials ist überwältigend und wird doch immer wieder gebrochen durch unregelmäßige Kanten und schroffe Abbrüche. Der Künstler spielt mit Brüchen und Gegensätzen, inhaltlich wie formal. Seine Arbeiten wechseln zwischen abstrakt und gegenständlich, spielen mit den Medien Zeichnung und Skulptur, springen zwischen Ein-, Zwei- und Dreidimensionalität hin und her.

Anja Wiebelt blickt ins Innere und gewährt dem Betrachter Einsicht ins Verborgene. Der Konzeptkünstlerin kommen dabei alle möglichen Materialien zu pass. Holz, Metall, Papier, Draht, Latex, Stoff … Auch ihre Arbeitsmethoden sind vielfältig. Sie fotografiert, zeichnet, collagiert, arbeitet holzbildhauerisch oder als Schmiedin, näht und leimt ... Sie geht aus von der inneren Welt, für die sie konkrete Bilder und Metaphern sucht, die dem fragilen, verletzlichen und schutzbedürftigen Ich Anschauung verleihen und der Flüchtigkeit der Erinnerung nachspüren.

Speech at the vernissage of "Views and Insights" by Dr Kathrin Reeckmann, 27.03.2014

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to give you a few thoughts on the work of Anja Wiebelt and Henning Schwarz. Two artists who could not be more different in terms of material, style and expression.

So what could be a connecting link, a way of honouring both artists without trying your patience too much, ladies and gentlemen? It is you who hold the key. It is your perception, it is your vision above all that gives you access to art.

This is actually a matter of course, but one that is often obstructed by preconceived opinions and a lack of self-confidence in your own powers of observation. I am currently reading "The History of the World in 100 Objects" by Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum in London. With understatement and humour, almost 2 million years of human history are told here using 100 objects from the museum's collection, from hand axes to credit cards. It is absolutely astonishing what insights can be gained simply by looking at the object itself without prejudice and with a wealth of knowledge. Far too often we rely on what we think we know and forget to explore the things themselves and let them speak their own language. I would like to introduce you to the work of Anja Wiebelt and Henning Schwarz with the help of this unbiased and knowledgeable view.

Firstly, I would like to direct your attention to Anja Wiebelt and her work "Standby". So what do we see?

Two upright tubes, with a base at the bottom and widening towards the top - they are probably vessels, perhaps vases or barrels. What is stored in them? We don't know yet. The vessels are irregularly shaped, not quite straight, they lean slightly towards each other. The design of these vessels immediately catches the eye: they have each been cut out of a solid piece of wood. Their thin walls are repeatedly pierced by gaps and holes. Is this the ravages of time? Are we looking at archaeological finds? Unlikely.

If we ask our heart about its contribution at this point, we notice a feeling of transience, of the ephemeral, of something that is no longer as it used to be. We may also have the feeling that these objects are alive. They turn towards each other, have something essential, almost figurative about them. The title of the artwork "Standby" leads us further down this path. In other words, "standby". Ready for what? Ready to receive something, but what? Are these essential, almost living vessels perhaps us? Is that our ego? And what are we taking in? Sensations, experiences. What remains? Memories, more or less sharp, fleeting and changeable. Inadvertently but inevitably, we arrive at a metaphorical level with such trains of thought and can take this perspective with us to view Anja Wiebelt's other works:

The artist always invents objects characterised by the ambiguous, the approximate, the elusive. They are often vessels, standing or mounted on the wall, which show us an outer shell of something that is not visible, has disappeared or has never been there. The next step of reflection is to connect this interior with the life of the soul, with feelings, perhaps also with the unknown or unconscious. It is up to us to imagine these contents and formulate our own insights.

The work of Henning Schwarz is also ideally suited to training the eye:

If you look at the black object in the centre of the room, for example: Several thin, straight-cut pieces of black stone are interlocked crosswise. Two protruding slabs form something like two feet or plinths. Two long slabs stand on them, similar to two legs, on which a connecting piece stands that ultimately holds two long spikes. This is undoubtedly an abstract depiction, although figurative associations also play a role. Let's take a look at the material and technique: the sculpture is made of gabbro - a very hard stone similar to granite. Its workmanship is striking: some of the surfaces are polished to a high lustre, very regular, very perfect because they are machine-made. The colour of the stone tends towards black and it looks like a mirror. Other surfaces and the edges, on the other hand, are sawn, not polished, giving them a velvety, grey surface. The connection between the individual parts, which is clearly visible, appears unexpected to the viewer: the artist sawed slits into the stone and then inserted them crosswise into each other. The sculpture appears to have been constructed from a large construction game. Would a different arrangement be possible? Could an unauthorised dismantling and reconstruction, even a new construction, succeed? It doesn't seem to need tools and anyone can play.

Henning Schwarz constructs something new from two-dimensional panels. He combines them to create an expansive whole that is more than the sum of its parts. He has titled his sculpture "Archimedes". So is it a monument to the Greek mathematician and engineer who formulated the law of levers and discovered the number pi? No, certainly not in the direct sense. But perhaps the artist is drawing our attention to the beauty of maths, geometry and mechanics, which can be found in many of his works and which have belonged to the fine arts since antiquity - in stark contrast to sculpture, by the way.

In addition to playfulness and rationality, there is a third principle that our sensations reveal to us: We see that Henning Schwarz's works are made of stone. We know that this is a very heavy material. But we don't feel this heaviness when we look at the objects. So Henning Schwarz plays with our idea of stone as a material and the art that is usually made from it. He is not attracted by the heaviness, even the power of the material. Common associations such as historicity or monumentality interest him above all in order to undermine them, to play with them. Henning Schwarz's works appear light and weightless, they aim to poetically touch, not to physically overwhelm the viewer.


I hope, ladies and gentlemen, that you will enjoy trying out your gaze in our exhibition. I would like to leave you with a quote from Arthur Schopenhauer, which can theoretically be applied to all good art, but which fits wonderfully this evening as a link between Anja Wiebelt and Henning Schwarz: "Style is the exact imprint of the quality of thought".