Matthias Weischer – Bühne

The exhibition provides an overview of the development that Weischer has undergone as an artist over the past twenty years. Eye-catcher of the exhibition is the painting Bulb from 2020, a new acquisition of the museum made possible by the Friends of the Drents Museum Foundation. Weischer is regarded as one of the most outstanding representatives of contemporary German painting. He is part of the Neue Leipziger Schule, an artists' group that the Drents Museum has been following for some time.

About thirty paintings are on view in the Bühne exhibition and the artistry of Matthias Weischer (Elte, 1973) from the past twenty years is central. Weischer obtained his MA in 2003 at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst in Leipzig. His early work consists of dark, desolate interiors that have something grim and surreal about them. Partly influenced by a temporary stay in an artist residency in Rome, Weischer changed his style and started painting outdoor landscapes and gardens in clear and bright colours.

Twin paintings"
The two styles come together in his current work. Weischer has returned to interiors but now paints more loosely and colourfully. He sets up his work in thick layers of paint that have almost an architectural quality. In addition, Weischer continues to experiment with so-called "twin paintings", of which a few pairs can be seen in the exhibition. The artist works on two canvases at the same time, on which he copies almost every adaptation. This makes for an interesting experiment that forces you as a viewer to focus on the subtleties.

New acquisition Bulb: typical Weischer!
The Drents Museum has recently started actively collecting international work for its collection of contemporary figurative art. The work Bulb by Matthias Weischer from 2020, which will soon be seen in the Bühne exhibition, is the second major international acquisition, after Rosa Loy's painting Substanzen/Substances. The new acquisition - made possible thanks to the Friends of the Drents Museum Foundation - is a typical Weischer. Various aspects of his oeuvre come together in the work: playful angles, thick paint hanging over the edges and a busy pattern with translucent colours in a retro interior.

Matthias Weischer is a member of the Neue Leipziger Schule. The Drents Museum has been following artists who have been trained at the well-known Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst in Leipzig for many years. Matthias Weischer's solo exhibition Bühne therefore ties in seamlessly with previous exhibitions by Leipzig artists such as Aris Kalaizis (2014), Laura Eckert (2015/2016), Rosa Loy (2017/2018) and David Schnell (2020). The exhibition Realism from Leipzig in 2009 was the starting point for the Drents Museum. It contained a comprehensive overview of three generations of painters from Leipzig.

Shown and collected worldwide

Matthias Weischer's work is shown and collected worldwide. Weischer has had a solo exhibition in New York running until October 17. He has previously exhibited solo at Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Centro de Arte Contemporaneo in Málaga, and the Ludwig Forum Internationale Kunst in Aachen, among others. Weischer's work has also been shown in group exhibitions at Centre Georges Pompidou Paris, Camden Arts Centre London and Cobra Museum Amstelveen, among others. His work is included in the collections of, among others, The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, Museum Voorlinden in Wassenaar and the Drents Museum in Assen.

Publication

The exhibition will be accompanied by the book Matthias Weischer - Bühne, a publication of WBOOKS, including an essay by Benno Tempel, director of Kunstmuseum Den Haag. The book is available in the Museum Shop and costs € 24.95.

Matthias Weischer's Bühne exhibition has been developed in collaboration with gallery GRIMM, Amsterdam / New York.