Galerie Artima is excited to announce an exhibition exploring the inter relationship between the work of René Galassi and Volker Kuhn. Although both artists are driven by different inspirations and identities, they share their dynamic use of paper as a sculptural medium.

The use of colour and pigmentation is central to the working processes of the artists. German born Volker Kuhn uses vivid and precisely researched tones in his pieces which are hand painted with gouache, as in his piece “flowers”. In contrast, French born René Galassi works with monochromatic colours, using only pure pigments. Both having been etchers before they became artists, they seek to reveal the beauty found in presenting and exploring a material in its purest form.

René Galassi uses stripes of fringed handmade paper (Papier Moulin), while Volker Kuhn purposefully hand-tears each petal to show the textured and irregular matter of paper.

Kuhn engages in a careful examination of both colour and form in his subtly figurative series of flowers, where tiny pieces of paper are carefully constructed into larger configurations. Galassi’s geometrical abstract work directly responds to Kuhn through lines and curves displayed in aesthetic simplicity, thus evoking movements and natural elements.

Through their unique use of paper, both artists challenge our usually limited notions of the material, elevating it from its ordinary context into a medium full of artistic possibilities.

René Galassi was born in Lyon in 1964. He lives and works in Nice.

He became engraver in 1999. He won many prices for its etching, as the 1st Etching Prize of Château- Arnoux, France in 2002, and the 1st Engraving Prize of the Agazzi contest of Bergame, Italy, in 2005. He is a self-taught artist.

Volker Kuhn was born in 1948 at Neuenkirch (Germany). He lives and works in Lilienthal. He was an engraver until 1996, date after which he stopped etching to create his own art in volume, building dioramas with figurines and objects. Figure of the 3D pop art movement, he has been exhibited through Europe, Asia, and America.