Cassina Projects is delighted to present Alles in Allem, the second solo show by artists Gert & Uwe Tobias (*1973) with the gallery.
Among the diverse media approached by the brothers, this exhibition brings up a dialogue between a group of selected glazed ceramics which occupy the center of the gallery space and a new body of wall pieces around them.
As if they were standing atop white plinths and talking to each other, the ceramic pieces appear like creatures with an austere geometrical body and bright, richly worked upon heads. At the crossroad between humans and mysterious beings, they seem to crawl out of the folkloric imagery that informs the Tobias practice. Named Spardose, their oblique nature is tinged with a veil of desecrating irony.
On the walls, a new body of works on canvas intimately combines techniques which the Tobias have been mastering throughout their career such as drawings, collage, colored woodcuts and painting. Tapping into symbolism and historical references of earlier eras, these fine compositions expand the artists aesthetic spectrum.
The sequence of subjects and details chosen from the collage cutouts spread a sense of definitiveness and sacredness which evokes ex voto, memento mori and vanitas motif.
Recurring figures throughout the show and consistent presence across the artists oeuvre, birds stand as symbol of transcendence and messengers from the spiritual realm compelling us to reflect on the precariousness of life and the transience of worldly goods.
All in all, the works on show conjure up an hybrid setting featuring anthropomorphic sculptures and layered mixed media which appear to negotiate the fine line between physical and metaphysical worlds.
