Vienna Secession, Albert Oehlen, November 26, 2004 - January 30, 2005; Paris, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Albert Oehlen, May 21 - July 13, 2005
Literature
A. Südbeck, Albert Oehlen: Secession, Vienna, 2004, p. 5 (illustrated); A. Carmignac, “Albert Oehlen,” Paris art, 2005 (illustrated)
Catalogue Essay
Albert Oehlen’s oeuvre articulates an unbounded pleasure in making pictures, a calm carefreeness in dealing with the conventions of art— and an ability to expand these conventions, to bend and break them. Oehlen’s radical artistic thinking and practice make possible pictures that are compelling but inexplicable, that defy clear analysis. The source of his ideas and materials thus remain in the gray area not unlike that offered by the internet: the suggested closeness of the individual to the download is lost amid the anonymous mass of users. Albert Oehlen’s works display an openness to painting and painters, past and present, who are confronted in his canvases with a fully formulated but constantly changing position. The speed at which the outlines, paint, and structure seem to be flung into the picture matches the restlessness of their content as it spreads, changes and disperses, the fact that the artist is forever rethinking and reshaping his own position and output is what makes an encounter with his work so exciting. M. Herrmann, “Proposal,” Albert Oehlen: Secession, Vienna, 2004, p. 93