(Synopsis)

The human image is at the forefront of the work of two artists currently being shown by the Art Association of Radolfzell (southern Germany) at the Villa Bosch.

Presented on the lower level of the villa are the works of Marcella Lassen, an artist born and raised in Los Angeles. Her paintings in classic oil technique depict contemporary and historic personalities that have attained an iconic status. Painted in a photo-realistic style, these works on large canvasses set the stage for known and unknown personages, each of them composed as if they had sprung directly from the pages of a contemporary lifestyle magazine.

Paintings by Marcella Lassen and Papercuts by Ingrid Eberspächer on show at the Villa Bosch in Radolfzell

The glitter-glamour world, the world of high-gloss staging, takes form before our very eyes; yet simultaneously we perceive that all is not as it appears. For at second glance it becomes evident the artist is making ingenious use of the element of caricature to debunk what superficially seems so appealing. ... In other words, there is always another reality behind the image which is actually presented; the image which is shown to us is simply the one which is marketable and sellable.

Marcella Lassen’s work also shows references to the American painter Edward Hopper in that her figures reflect a certain loneliness and melancholy.

Marcella Lassen’s work also shows references to the American painter Edward Hopper in that her figures reflect a certain loneliness and melancholy. To stand in the spotlight distinguishes a person, but also creates an aura of singularity around their persona. Many of Lassen’s paintings show the figures cut off below the eyes, thus ignoring their mind, their spirit or intellectual capabilities; as a result there is all the more focus on body and clothing, the non-enduring aspects of the human being. This subtle characteristic of the artist’s work points a finger at the deception of the gloss and glitter world and reinforces her admonition to look beyond its façade.
(...)

Both artists focus on different aspects of the contemporary image of man

Both artists focus on different aspects of the contemporary image of man; this includes not only how the world perceives these images, but also how humans create their images depending on how they want to be perceived or what they want to convey.

(by Ulrike Niederhöfer)