Theo Lambertin

Theo Lambertin (*1949 in Cologne) trained and worked as a colour lithographer before he began studying at the Cologne College of Art and Design in 1971. This was followed by longer sojourns abroad (e.g. in Martinique and New York). For two years, he was as a guest lecturer at the Academy of Art in Münster. In 1975, he received the August Macke Prize and, in 2001, he was Artist in Residence and lecturer for “Fundamental Aesthetic Competence” at the University of Erfurt. His works have been presented in numerous exhibitions in Germany and abroad. Theo Lambertin lives and works in Leipzig, Berlin, and Texas.

SO AS NOT TO BETRAY PAINTING

Theo Lambertin is presenting three thematic groups of works. One group consists of collages with used paintbrushes covered in text, out of which toothpaste-white paint appears to pour. A second group is comprised of over-painted Portraits of Gerhard Richter by Benjamin Katz. Painted in a Richter-like manner, these works oscillate between persiflage and homage. The third group of works presents the motif of a dark black bird, whose fascinating feathers literally glimmer.

Lambertin’s art develops out of an open process: With each of the many production stages, he transforms his works, creating strangely new, more compact perspectives, whereby painterly re-workings alternate with photographic documentation. His works unite numerous temporal layers, oscillating between the subjective creative process and objective reproduction techniques.

In a tongue-in-cheek way, Lambertin questions the concept of originality and ingenious talent, as well as the role of art with regard to objectivity and definitiveness.