Adrian Ghenie – The Devil

A couple of dogs rushing out from the frame. Another one standing, staring at us. Something is going on in the background. Until we figure it out, there’re nothing left to do but contemplate the color palette and the many different brushstrokes.
Adrian Ghenie is a painter who explores the relationship between facts and subjective memory. Using distortion and violence to explore the remains of the 20th Century European history.

The setting is uncomplicated. Dogs and an industrial background.
The under-lying story could explain the urgency of the brushstrokes and the sudden departure of the subject matters. The eyes want to search for a reason, an explanation by looking at the dogs. Two of them on the left side, are running away. The one close to the center is sitting. Its face is covered with a mask. That’s probably the reason why it seems paralyzed and not ready to leave the area. Its neck is smudged with blood, a deep dark aubergine tone.

In the midst of this chaos, we are guided by colors. Searching for a break, we’re wandering and pausing from a blackened area to another one. In between the dark spots, sea greens, grays and reds. Beautiful tones, that are confusing our feelings now. What appeared to be a disastrous and terrorizing landscape is now becoming a mesmerizing vision.
On the top center of the picture, a rounded shape welcomes red strokes in its heart. The red color schemes are mirrored with the similar tones of the ground. The sun, shining and bleeding. Helping us reconnect to the ground. Together, the most reassuring elements of the scene.

A jigsaw of plans where each piece is lead by a group of color. Something needs to be hidden, or ran from. What is it? We might never know if we don’t imagine it for ourselves.