Vor und hinter dem Glas

Infront of and behind the glass consists of three groups of paintings: First, the titular series Infront of and Behind the Glass, which deals with the relationship between image, image carrier, and framing, especially framing glass. Then the ongoing series Do it!, impasto textured monochrome paintings painted in the color of the wall on which they are presented. Finally, the group Yes or No, No or Yes, or No and No is shown. These are four large, black “X” shapes and a fifth, broken “X” on each of 70 white ceramic tiles framed in aluminum.

The presentation varies and interprets the previously shown group exhibition 0,10 OR THE SURVIVAL OF EMPTINESS (curated by Michael Müller and Lukas Töpfer). The solo exhibition takes up a facet of the group exhibition and deepens it. In doing so, five works from the group exhibition are integrated into the current exhibition: four works from the series In Front of and Behind Glass and a closed, room-sized Plexiglas cube (“Exhibition Display”). Like 0,10 OR THE SURVIVAL OF EMPTINESS, the solo exhibition is conceptually and formally grouped around the centrally presented Plexiglas cube, which echoes the shape and structure of the square and glass building on Potsdam’s Freundschaftsinsel.

The relationship between the work and the exhibition space—wall and glass—now comes to the fore thematically. The result is a solo exhibition on the border between two glass rooms. Untypical for Michael Müller, the project focuses on only one component of his multi-layered oeuvre: the examination of the medium and the possibilities of painting in space.