Thirteen Most Beautiful...: Rosilene Luduvico, Thomas Schütte, Lukas Schmenger

BLOOM is pleased to present three artistic positions on the theme of the portrait. The exhibition explores the question of whether in our transient, digital age the portrait genre can still intrigue the viewer with its enigmatic form, inspiring a sense of awe and wonder. The exhibition showcases Thomas Schütte’s (*1954 in Oldenburg) ceramic reliefs “Luise” and “Anna”. “Luise” is based on earlier drawings which he produced in cooperation with a model. Schütte created between 100 and 120 ink drawings of Luise over three months. “Because I noticed immediately, no, that must flow differently, now I’m taking the thick brush and I want to make a line, these Japanese lines, like so, in one motion, and quick-as-we-can, three, five minutes, then everything must be finished (...)”. A selection of the drawings created in one breath was then transferred later to ceramic plaques. Also on show is a selection of portrait paintings (2019–2020) by Rosilene Luduvico (*1969 in Espirito Santo, Brazil). The depicted subjects are artists, musicians or curators and friends of the artist. The work-titles represent not the real names of the people portrayed, but rather associatively they express the artist’s feelings about the portrait-subjects and their art. Her painting process begins by preparing a ground for the canvas from a mixture of gesso, white pigments and Bologna chalk. This first step of priming the canvas surface accentuates the contemplative element in her painting. “In particular, I’m impressed by the calm that people radiate while asleep. The sleeping person unconsciously enters a new space, a journey begins through space and time and the individual’s vulnerability is obvious.” The idea of the “beyond” (Dahinter) connects Lukas Schmenger with Rosilene Luduvico. Lukas Schmenger (*1981 in Filderstadt) is devoted through his painting and sculpture to depiction of the humane. A sculpture and a large-format painting are on display. The exhibited works diverge from a conventional portrait definition in the sense of not portraying really existing people, but rather hybrid physiognomies, which are kept in peculiar suspense between their individuality and a universalized type. “I see the body or the face primarily as an interface between inside and outside. In this light, my interest is an anatomical grasp of the motifs, whereby the focus is less on the physical constitution of organisms as opposed to the mental and emotional forms of appearance and energetic connections.” About the artists Thomas Schütte was awarded the Kurt Schwitters Preis of the Hanover Sprengel Museum in 1998 and in 2005 he received the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale. Works by Thomas Schütte are included in the collections of the leading international museums like London’s Tate Gallery, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid or the Musée National d’Art Moderne – Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Rosilene Luduvico studied at Espirito Santo University in Brazil (1988‒1995) and at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (1997‒2003) with Professor Konrad Klapheck and Siegfried Anzinger. Her works are included, among others, in the Collection Goetz, Collection Reydan Weiss, Olbricht Collection, Vangi Sculpture Garden Museum in Shizuoka Japan. Lukas Schmenger studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf with Prof. Thomas Grünfeld where he became a masterclass student in 2009. Last year, he was artist-in-residence at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, and spent longer sojourns with artist-in-residence programs in London and Istanbul. A catalogue will be forthcoming during the exhibition with a contribution by the curator and art journalist, Gesine Borcherdt, who lives and works in Berlin. An edition by Lukas Schmenger accompanies the exhibition and is available on the website. https://www.bloomduesseldorf.de/editions