Volker Hermes. eye and time
The portrait is one of humanity's oldest visual objects. The Egyptians immortalized people in wall paintings and mummies, the Greeks and Romans created coin portraits or erected portrait busts in which rulers were paid homage and the deceased were commemorated. It is always about their stylization and idealization.
During the Renaissance, portraiture gained popularity throughout Europe: the “modern” individual was presented in posture and facial expression, gestures and selected accessories as he or she sees himself or wants to be seen. During the Baroque era, portraits experienced a further upswing: magnificent robes and pompous draperies paired with stylized poses now determined the productions, which were oriented towards the need for representation. The artist always wants to depict the personality and “soul” of the person depicted.
This is exactly where Volker Hermes comes in, breaking the norms with his digitally transformed images and paradoxically expressing the individual by covering faces. He denies eye contact and instead focuses on robes, ribbons, fans, jewelry and other accessories. This reminds us that such accessories have a decisive influence on the identity of the person portrayed, because clothes make the man. All elements of the digital wrappings come from the paintings themselves, which always remain recognizable. This creates a play between cover and content, between concealing and revealing, between distance and closeness, and also a dialogue between eye and time.
The Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum has invited the Düsseldorf artist Volker Hermes (*1972), who is recognized worldwide for his digital metamorphoses, to artistically edit six works from the in-house collection. The results, which can be seen in the portrait room (1st floor), are captivating, humorous and socially critical. They build a bridge to our present day and confront us with current issues such as equality, diversity or the understanding of sexual identity.
Another aspect of his oeuvre can be seen in the museum's fireplace room: nine marine paintings are on display there, all of which are based on historical paintings, but undergo completely new interpretations and mutate into independent compositions. With an analytical eye, Hermes builds the seascapes in set pieces based on the principle of sky, horizon and sea and recreates them in a mixture of drawing and painting. Through the use of acrylic, Edding and graffiti markers, all of which have a permanent character, the momentary nature of the representation is emphasized and the drama is intensified using lines, abstractions and color gradients.
Curator: Sarvenaz Ayooghi
General information
Arrival & contact
Suermondt-Ludwig Museum
Wilhelmstraße 18
52070 Aachen
Germany
