Galerie Max Hetzler
Somatic transmission & Qualiascope (recent paintings)
Carroll Dunham , United States
Carroll Dunham, Qualiascope Freefall (two), 2021, photo : David Regen, courtesy Galerie Max Hetzler
Since the 1970s, Carroll Dunham (b. 1949) has developed a unique pictorial language in a significant oeuvre encompassing painting, drawing, print and sculpture. Employing a formal mastery of line, texture and colour, Dunham’s distinctive body of work continually engages new and recurring modes of art-making.
Drawing on the art historical canon but also on pop culture including sci-fi and cartoons, Dunham revisits enduring themes that comprise our existence — trees, guns, the planet, bathers and wrestlers amongst others — while simultaneously exploring the formal attributes of painting. Riding the line between abstraction and figuration, planes of strong colour and Dunham’s curvilinear line activate the energetically-charged works.
Through anthropomorphic forms, vivid abstractions, surreal landscapes and archetypal figures, the artist demonstrates his fascination and unique ability to play with scale, orientation and composition to give physical form to psychologically challenging imagery. Dunham’s careful choreography provides insight into his subjects’ complex internal world.
The gallery
The Max Hetzler Gallery has been based in Germany for over 30 years, first in Cologne and since 1993 in Berlin.
Since its creation, Max Hetzler has presented exhibitions of both established and emerging contemporary artists and its programming has continued to evolve.
Today it is also present in Paris and London and continues to support artists of different generations, such as Bridget Riley, Albert Oehlen and Giulia Andreani. Artists from the non-Western scene such as Ernesto Neto (Brazil) or Ai Weiwei (mainland China), two personalities who are very committed to freedom of expression or the protection of nature, are also part of the program.
The gallery participates in the main international fairs, Basel, Frieze, Fiac, Tefaf and their satellite editions (Miami, Los Angeles...) and regularly publishes books on its artists and exhibitions.
Gallery artists
Ai Weiwei • Darren Almond • Giulia Andreani • Matthew Barney • Louise Bonnet • Glenn Brown • André Butzer • William N. Copley • Carroll Dunham • Ida Ekblad • Jeff Elrod • Urs Fischer • Walton Ford • Günther Förg • Charles Gaines • Robert Grosvenor • Raymond Hains • Robert Holyhead • Liz Larner • Inge Mahn • Michel Majerus • Marepe • Beatriz Milhazes • Ernesto Neto • David Novros • Navid Nuur • Albert Oehlen • Adam Pendleton • Richard Prince • Bridget Riley • Raphaela Simon • Thomas Struth • Tursic & Mille • Edmund de Waal • Rebecca Warren • Christopher Wool • Zhang Wei • Toby Ziegler
