Willehad EILERS, Jan KATH

Willehad Eilers, There You Are, 2023, Chinese silk (hand knotted), 145 x 220 cm, 57 x 86 1_2 in, Unique, by Santosh Chhantyal

Two selected paintings by the German artist Willehad Eilers have been transformed into large-format tapestries by the carpet manufacturer JAN KATH DESIGN. Eiler’s painterly density is thus transcribed into a fabric intensity. The mood achieved by him is worked out in detail by Jan Kath in mostly Chinese silk. The radiance that silk possesses underlines the atmosphere of a hedonistic celebration of the 1920s.

These works are presented alongside large-format paintings by the artist, which clearly stand out from the carpet works. It is a return to Eilers’ starting point – the line. They not only illustrate to the viewer the artistic path and scope of his oeuvre, but also embed the tapestries in an installation-like narrative that functions like side events to the carpet works.

Willehad Eilers, Dreh Dich nicht um, 2023, Chinese silk & tibetan wool (hand knotted) , 160 x 240 cm, 63 x 94 1_2 in, Unique, by Santosh Chhantyal

At first glance, Jan Kath’s new carpet works from his artistic Rug Bombs series show classic portraits framed by traditional decorations. The impression of an amulet is deliberately implied as a contrast to the motive. The people portrayed have all come to great wealth through arms trafficking, profiteers of horror in the classical sense. Kath thus continues his effort to find a narrative to classify current political events and to make the strands behind them visible. A theme that has long preoccupied him and which he hopes to convey through the narrative tradition of rugs.

Willehad Eilers (*1981, DE) lives and works in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 2010 he graduated from the RijksAkademie in Amsterdam, NL.

Jan Kath (*1972, DE), lives and works between Kathmandu and Bochum.

* The exhibition takes place at JAN KATH KÖLN, VENLOER STR. 16, 50672 COLOGNE.

Galerie Droste

Birkenstr. 104, 40233 Düsseldorf

+49 151 18132994

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