Benny Droscher , My Grandma Never Doubted Anything I Told Her, 2008, wood, jesmonite, gold leaf, cloth strips2009

Benny Droscher , Let Us Suppose Then That We are Dreaming, 2009 , acrylic on canvas, 2009

Richard Webb, Terror Management Theory, detail 2009

Benny Droscher, Let Us Suppose Then that We Are Dreaming

S.T.O.R.A.G.E Richard Webb

14 Oct-14 Nov 2009

The Agency is pleased to present new paintings and sculptures by Danish artist Benny Droescher. The new paintings are a continuation of his past dalliances with abstraction and surrealism. The works juxtapose surface and depth, the graphic and the authentic mark all within zero gravity space. Weightlessness is an important issue for the sculptor and painter Droescher. His sculptures have the appearance of solidity when in fact they turn out to be props, holes within cloth or grooves in foam. Droescher's canvases are physically heavier than his sculptures, yet the chromatics and arrangement of the motifs are all intended to suggest weightlessness, floating and chaos. This suggestion works despite the fact that the paintings are arranged according to the classical laws of central perspective.   On first glance Droescher's works are of ageless beauty, on second glance they become harder to read. They are composites of ciphers, part Twombly, part pastoral quotation and symbols, which possibly resonate zen practice. It is beside the point whether any of the symbols can be read how they might have been intended, as they are presented at the point of dissolution. Rather than this being a Negative, in Droescher's work it is a Positive, the point of separation from meaning is about the liberation or the drawing of breath from being literal, literary or pictorial.   The centre of the work is usually a void, which might be read as a point of transparency or a portal.

  One could argue that Droescher's paintings are inverse, rather than emanating light to the outside they suck light from within, making them radiate in turn. In order to quantify this radiation the occasional mark or squiggle functions both as a reminder of representation but also as a blockage or smear which directs the gaze.

Modernist abstraction, even expressionism would have had to decide between gravity or weightlessness, whereas todays' abstraction can be figurative, void, decentralised and physically bound by gravity all at once. The shift in perception could be blamed on the advent of anime and 3d computergraphics or games culture. It appears that Droescher's paintings are about an abstraction of the gaze in the age of digital representation. It allows them to propose an innocence, which is also informed by the knowledge of parallel worlds (within quantum physics) and constant paradigm shifts.   Droescher's works, be it paintings, sculptures or installations pose questions rather than provide answers, but contrary to his titles, they are not philosophical propositions but about physics versus the poetry of perception.

Benny Droescher lives and works in Denmark. He has shown extensively   internationally.   After his solo exhibtion at the Bergen Konsthal he participated in three shows in Italy this year alone, at Blindarte Contemporanea and Mostra D'Oltremare both in Naplesand the Palazzo Venezia, Rome, as well as being included   in "The force of the Romanticism", Malmö Konstmuseum, Sweden. He was profiled by Martin Herbert for the September Issue of Modern Painters 2007 as well as being featured Art Review July/August 2007 and Arte Critica August 2008 articles and catalogues.

S.T.O.R.A.G.E

Richard Webb, Terror Management Theory

The Agency is pleased to present the young artist Richard Webb with a new version of his installation Terror Management Theory . The piece is a further development of an installation, which was included in the performance Terra Extremitas by Foolish People, performed at the NDSM Kunststad, Amsterdam. The work takes on a different form as an independent artwork for S.T.O.R.A.G.E. Terror Management Theory is a strand of psychological research, which was developed in the 1980s. It attempts to provide a rationale for the motivational catalysts of human behavior when life is threatened. Aside from its direct meaning the implication of such a title in today's context envelops the wider implications of this threat. Economic crisis and terrorism are implied factors in the threat to livelihood and life. Webb plays with these subliminal factors by mounting a random number of found photographs from 1980s advertising. Highlighting advertising billboards post 1987 market crash, they focus on the rather bleak promises of recession proof cars as well as an alarming number of empty hoardings. The photographs form an archive of aspiration versus disillusion, whilst the remaining installation offers various tranquilizers and painkillers for comfort. Terror Management Theory   tries to deal with the emotional fallout of broken promises and the ineffectiveness of the comforting lull, which replaces the proactive interaction with societal dangers.