Sarah Ortmeyer is a German artist who juxtaposes seemingly disparate references to spark conversations regarding identity, gender and the human condition. Working across painting, sculpture, publishing and installations, her work is regularly featured alongside a range of generational artists, such as Man Ray and Kandinsky, while offering new narratives to age-old motifs.
Her subject matter defies categorization, but if one were to determine a through line, each body of work centers around the theme of risk. Ortmeyer’s latest exhibition, SPORTS CLUB NEW YORK follows along this trajectory. Housed at Galerie Eva Presenhuber, the show marks her 75th exhibition of her career and begins with a vibrant painting of a chess board. Emblematic of her oeuvre, the artist uses this device as a metaphor for the dialectic of opposites — reflecting the incessant contradictions of human nature.
More prominently shown across the gallery are small collage paintings of celebrities, such as David Beckham in the form of monochromatic panini cards from his playing days back at Manchester United. The artist recurrently compares David the athlete, to his renaissance contemporary made by Michelangelo. Curator Cindy Sissokho states “David, the masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture and historical symbol of power, youth, and independence, and David, the sports hero, each represent outdated male ideals of success.”
SPORTS CLUB NEW YORK opened today and will be on view in NYC until July 29.
On the topic of exhibitions, Mous Lamrabat presents a new suite of photographs at Foam in Amsterdam.
Galerie Eva Presenhuber
39 Great Jones St,
New York, NY 10012
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