On view February 3 – April 6, 2017
The William Rolland Gallery of Fine Art is proud to present an exhibition of twelve recent watercolor works on paper by Christof Mascher in the gallery alcove. Saturated in brilliant colors and vivid scenes, these small “gem” works are imaginative and thrilling. Many of these works have traveled through London, Cologne, and Chicago before coming to Ventura County.
Christof Mascher (b. 1979, Hannover) lives and works in Braunschweig, Germany. He studied at the Hochschule für bildende Künste (HBK), Braunschweig, under Professor Walter Dahn, and has been the subject of multiple solo gallery exhibitions in Brussels, Berlin, Amsterdam, Zurich, Rotterdam, Cologne and London, and monographic museum exhibitions at the Mönchehaus Museum, Goslar, Germany (2008) and Kunsthalle Emden, Germany (2011). He is represented by Josh Lilley, London, Galerie Michael Janssen, Berlin, Galerie Philipp von Rosen, Cologne, and Hopstreet, Brussels.
Words from the artist: “I remember the moment I discovered working on paper. I had been always drawing on board or canvas; I didn’t like it when the paper became rippled after watering it. It would have been a basic lesson to learn those things in art school but those days, with the 1990s still present, were about installation, soundworks, gender. I was interested in aspects of composition—creating spaces, moods and horizons. I had to find my own ways to express myself. My works build up from nowhere, a horizon of desire, a phrase, a song line, and then something begins. When I learned—only a year ago—to mount paper on board with paperglue tape, I had the ability to water the surface again and again, which became very inviting for this loose process. A day later the paper was flat again. Using layers over layers, I was able to realize my idea of narrative.
I am inspired by imagery of my youth, be it children’s book illustrations, Scandinavian landscapes, imagery of video games from the early ’90s, movie stills. I end up in places I may have been before, even if they’re not real. I often end up in places like New England, perhaps Maine, or on the archipelago of Stockholm. I like to create a mood that connects the viewer to my horizons while keeping space for their own projections, and my own. Layers keep revealing themselves to me too. As David Lynch said: I don’t dream by night; I dream in my work.”
This exhibit was made possible by the support of Josh Lilley Gallery, London.
Image: Christof Mascher, pigdog walk, watercolor, pigment ink, pencil on paper, 11 x 18 inches, 2016. Courtesy of the artist and Josh Lilley, London.
