First published: Summer 2024
In his labyrinthine work, German artist Matthias Korb delves into the beginning and the end
In a small, provincial, 600-souls town called Lohrheim, 70 km northwest of the city of Frankfurt, Germany, there is an old farmhouse, on the front of which are the Latin words “Initium et Finis” (beginning and end). Artist Matthias Korb is the initiator and creator of everything within.
Suspended from the ceiling, a sculpture titled Annihilation presents elements of the human body in small bottles hanging over a burner, courtesy Joachim Weinekötter
Through the doors, the initial visual impact is overwhelming, astonishing; the unexpected in every direction. The atmosphere is respectful, almost reverent. Walking through the numerous rooms, climbing the different staircases, is like being in a three-dimensional labyrinth. Time passes.
Transcendence, 2018, mixed media assemblage, 63 x 43.5 in. / 160 x 110 cm, courtesy Joachim Weinekötter
It is not easy to list all the objects on display in Korb’s collection. Skulls, bones, dolls, lamps, furniture, instruments, stuffed animals, rosaries, candlesticks, scales, writings, books, medicine bottles, barbed wire, old iron, and miscellaneous things, above all, miscellaneous things. The cluttered randomness that seems to exist in the dim atmosphere is only a superficial first impression which brightens up, so to speak, as the visitor continues their tour. The meaningful references become more and more apparent. And yet, a room revisited offers up different perspectives the second time, reveals corners that were overlooked the first time.
The Dreamed Life, the Lived Life, 2016, mixed media assemblage, 55 x 47.5 in. / 140 x 120 cm, courtesy Joachim Weinekötter
By ROLF BRÜGGEMANN
This is an article extract; read the full article in Raw Vision #119.
