When we kissed that kiss
Solo Exhibition at Metropol Kunstraum, Munich
07 September – 18 December 2024
When we kissed that kiss
The exhibition When we kissed that kiss at Metropol Kunstraum in Munich brings together works by Michael Müller from 2004 to the present day. Known for his large-format paintings and drawings, in the selection presented the artist focuses on the small format, which allows a highly concentrated distillation of his conceptual approach to painting.
What all the works have in common is that they were created over a long period of time and that the artist returned to them time and again—sometimes over ten years, as in the case of the title work When we kissed that kiss (2013/23)—making changes, expansions, new approaches and reductions. The painterly investigations range from the simple question of the relation between two clashing colours to the influence of various painting tools such as fingers, squeegees, brushes, rags and sponges on the creative process, through to reworkings of the complex relationships between motif, image, support and the painting as a physical object, such as in Grau auf Gelb (2021)—a canvas work stretched on a pentagonal stretcher frame that hovers just above the floor.
The exhibition is complemented by numerous drawings that take up themes addressed in the painting and work on them in a way that is specific to the medium: The early, two-part drawing Eine Frage der Umgebung (2005), for example, translates the theme of the ‘shaped canvas’ onto paper and examines the effect of various irregular geometric shapes—as motif, background, border, edge and detail—and thus enters into a multi-layered dialogue with the paintings. This exploration is deepened in Müller’s Untersuchungen zu vier Formen (2014), each of which shows four abstract shapes and questions their relations to one another: what effect do isolation, parallelism and distinction have and how does perspective arise even in abstract drawings through partial superimpositions?
Exhibition views:
© Maximilian Rossner
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Gefühl und Gefüge, 2012
Pencil on paper
White wooden frame
166 × 236 cm -
Shift (Dictionary of the Possible), 2014
Pencil on paper
52 × 68,5 cm -
Untersuchung zu vier Formen, Nr. 3, 2014
Pencil on paper
Black wooden frame
52 × 68,5 cm -
Untersuchung zu vier Formen, Nr. 4, 2014
Pencil on paper
Black wooden frame
52 × 68,5 cm -
Untersuchung zu vier Formen, Nr. 7, 2014
Pencil on paper
Black wooden frame
52 × 68,5 cm -
Fernweh / Jugendwerk, 1985
Acrylic, oil and pencil on cardboard
Pink wooden frame and shadow gap
84,5 × 63 × 5 cm -
Eine Frage der Umgebung, Teil 1. und Teil 2., 2005
from the series: The Mountains are Black
Pencil on pink paper
White wooden frame and distance bar
Two-part work, Part 1: 38 × 27 × 3,5 cm, Part 2: 34 × 27 × 3,5 cm -
Das Auftreffen, 2013/2016
Acrylic on alu-dibond
Aluminum frame
Two-part work, each: 64,5 × 47 × 3 cm -
Beautiful summer, 2016
Lacquer on alu-dibond
Acrylic glass cover
45 × 58,2 × 4,6 cm -
At 4 am, 2016
Lacquer on alu-dibond
Acrylic glass cover
53 × 40,6 × 4,6 cm -
Zwischen den Kommas, 2010/2016/2020
from the series: Anton im Bastrock
Pencil, acrylic and tape on different papers and alu-dibond
Aluminium frame and distance bar
55 × 41 × 3 cm -
Blauer Malerstab (für Blinky Palermo), 2012
from the series: Painter’s Sticks
Acrylic on greyboard and wood
Grey wooden frame and greyboard distance bar
57,6 × 84,6 × 6 cm -
When we kissed that kiss, 2013/2023
Acrylic and lacquer on alu-dibond
Light pink wooden frame and distance bar
51,6 × 37,6 × 3,5 cm -
No matter how many times I shatter, 2016
Acrylic, gesso and lacquer on acrylic glass
White wooden frame and shadow gap
58 × 84,5 × 3 cm -
TSPB, 2016
Acrylic, gesso and lacquer on alu-dibond
White wooden frame and shadow gap
51 × 51 × 3 cm -
TRRK, 2016
Acrylic, gesso and lacquer on alu-dibond
White wooden frame and shadow gap
40,1 × 61 × 3 cm -
Do It! (Setting Up History) #1, 2016
from the series: Do it yourself
Acrylic and wall paint on canvas
70 × 50 × 3 cm -
No. 7 (Everything slips), Portrait of a Generation, 2023
from the series: Verso / Recto
Acrylic and lacquer on printed alu-dibond and printed glass
White wooden frame and distance bar
164 × 124 × 4 cm -
Grau auf Gelb, 2021
from the series: Reproduktion von Frühwerken
Acrylic and lacquer on Belgian linen
236 × 179 × 4,5 cm -
Mr. Slothrop erwirbt ein Bild in der Bond Street, 2022/23
from the series: The Avantgarde was Straight
Acrylic and lacquer on printed Belgian linen
170,2 × 240,1 × 2,4 cm -
Freie Ausrichtung 1, 2017
Pencil on paper
White wooden frame
55,5 × 55,5 × 3,5 cm -
Freie Ausrichtung 3, 2017
Pencil on paper
White wooden frame
55,5 × 55,5 × 3,5 cm
