In the sixties and seventies, Peter Valentiner used camouflage nets to transform parks and streets into mosaic-like landscapes. A technique that the artist transferred from space to canvas. Segments in bright blue, red, white and yellow, arranged diagonally or in circles, are covered by a fine network of colour. The interplay of the surfaces creates a floating space permeated by colourful rhythms. Such "composition non déterminée" by Valentiners is still an echo of those years when he exhibited together with the group "Supports-Surface".
The fact that the artist, who now lives in Cologne, has meanwhile broken away from these anonymous forms and is consistently going his own way is shown by his presentation in the Westernhagen Gallery (Bismarckstraße 33). Valentiner uses the technique of decollage to transform the canvas into a muted, shimmering cosmos. Cracked or cut islands of restrained colour seem to alternately emerge from the painting and sink into the monochrome background. Fragments in glowing red and metallic grey with gestural interiors complement each other to form disorienting tilting figures. (Until 12 March.)
Annette Schroeder