Torsten Kaufmann 
"Jenseits von Arkadien" (Beyond Arcadia)

15th of July until 1st of September 2013

The experimental "Temporary Studio" has been used to promote artists both within and out of this region since 1995.  For a few weeks, the rooms and courtyard of the Kunstverein serve as a studio; for a chosen artist.  His work is accessible to the public and the artist himself is available for open discussion during artist talks. 
In his mostly figurative art, which contains many elements of the Critical Realist tradition, Torsten Kaufmann encourages the viewer to embrace unexpected changes in perspective:  the subjects of banal and sublime, real and mythological, historical and everyday are combined to establish a new form and context. 
Under the working title "East of Arcadia," previously unknown works created in recent years are placed in a specific context.  Arcadia, which has been an imaginary and idealized place within European ideology for centuries, represents a space where humans interact harmoniously with nature, and Kaufmann seeks to explore this artistically:  Does Arcadia remain charged with idealistic notions, as it was seen by the ancient Roman poets?  Is it still located in Italy and Greece, or has it moved in the meantime to an All-Inclusive-Hotel in Turkey?

As part of the "Temporary Studio 2013," Torsten Kaufmann will develop a sculptural tribute to the constructivist Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart, who originated in Osnabrück (in cooperation with Initiative Vordemberge-Gildewart, Osnabrück http://www.vg-jahr.de/?page_id=134 )