Alexander Gutke
Lichthaus Arnsberg
28. August – 18. Oktober 2009

Lichthaus Arnsberg presents the first institutional solo exhibition of the Swedish artist Alexander Gutke in Germany. The exhibition provides an insight into the conceptual work of the young artist, who reacts analytically to the surroundings of the Lichthaus with a selection of works from the last five years. Light is a central theme in Gutke's work, which can often be felt through colour, form and contrast. The search for the mystical and the unknown characterises his exhibition at the Lichthaus Arnsberg, where his works can be seen in the historical context of the Wedinghausen Monastery.

In Gutke's Subtraction series, the phrase 'all the colours of the dark' is meditatively stamped onto white paper with the subtraction inks cyan, magenta and yellow until the oversaturated colour creates an almost black, large blob. By applying the paint to the white paper, Gutke strips the surface of its reflective power, and all the colours of the night do indeed emerge.

The installation Untitled (for Christian Andersson), which consists of a black open box with mirrors and white neon light, also has a mystical effect. The insight conveys the illusion of transition and endlessness and invites us to lose ourselves in the tunnel of light and our thoughts.

Since the 1960s, there have been a number of stories and conspiracy theories about hidden messages in song lyrics and on record covers. Gutke's work snerohT is based on a classic Thorens TD 165 record player, whose design and function Gutke subtly and faithfully reverses: his replica can actually play records backwards. Gutke's work, however, refuses this interaction; it deliberately remains a sculpture and offers rather subversive continuations in the minds of the viewers.

In his work Wastebasket, we find several origami objects in various geometric shapes in perfect execution in a bucket. Whether the artist has lost interest in the work or the creative process is what counts for him above all remains unclear and continues to leave imaginary spaces open.

Alexander Gutke's exhibition is the third project in the Lichthaus of the Wedinghausen Monastery and the beginning of a series of projects dedicated to young contemporary art. The series aims to promote encounters and dialogue with art, music and literature, to develop new experimental concepts and projects that involve and inspire the public, and to generate new impulses for the city of Arnsberg.

Alexander Gutke, born 1971 in Kungälv, Sweden, lives and works in Malmö. Some of his exhibitions and projects have been shown in, among others: Musem of Contemporary Art Detroit (2009), Culturgest Porto (2009), Stedeljik Museum Bureau Amsterdam (2008), Kunstverein Düsseldorf (2007), Kunsthalle Budapest (2007), Frankfurter Kunstverein (2005), Museum of Contemporary Art Lyon (2004).

The exhibition in the Lichthaus is organised by the Cultural Office of the City of Arnsberg in cooperation with the Kunstverein Arnsberg.