translated and summarized by: Liz Wollner-Grandville,
110313: Sotheby’s Vienna - Artist Quarterly: Fabian Patzak – Splendor
Sotheby’s Vienna
Artist Quarterly: Fabian Patzak – Splendor
18.01.2013 – 29.03.2013
Naked Rooms
By Wolfgang Pichler
A unique and very private atmosphere characterizes the rooms at Sotheby’s Vienna where the works of Fabian Patzak are presented. After the first glance at his paintings it is obvious that the title of the exhibition: “Splendor” must be regarded as an ironic insinuation towards the venue (the baroque Palais Wilczek).
An oriel with a helm roof in Theresianumgasse or the the entrance to a house in Kaisermühlen are portrayed in a reduced but unbelievably clear and precise manner, using only a few shades of grey. And similar to a good portrait, the focus is not on the superficial reality but on what is hidden behind it. In contrast to the baroque shapes of the exhibition room the unframed small formated works appear almost naked and unprotected.
And yet it's not the absence of frames or other accessories that create an effect of nakedness, but much more the fact that one has the impression of being able to understand the essential essence of things – concretely said, the architecture. The phrase “stripped bare” characterizes the working method of the artist who was born in 1983 and who lives in New York and Vienna - this way he gets to the bottom of things, frees them of their protective shell and uncovers what is essential. His small and mid-sized formats are the most convincing in this exhibition. That fact that houses, which commonly represent a kind of protective shell turn into fragile or even questionable objects in our imagination, is responsible for the attractiveness of these oil and acrylic works.
Sotheby`s Vienna
1010 Vienna, Herrengasse 5
Tel: +43-1-512 47 72
Fax: +43-1-513 48 67
http://www.sothebys.com
Opening hours: Mon –Fri 9.00 – 17.00 hours
110313
Sotheby`s Wien
1010 Wien, Herrengasse 5
Tel: +43-1-512 47 72, Fax: +43-1-513 48 67
http://www.sothebys.com/de/inside/locations-worldwide/vienna/overview.html
Öffnungszeiten: Mo-Fr 9-17 h
Sotheby`s Wien
1010 Wien, Herrengasse 5
Tel: +43-1-512 47 72, Fax: +43-1-513 48 67
http://www.sothebys.com/de/inside/locations-worldwide/vienna/overview.html
Öffnungszeiten: Mo-Fr 9-17 h