FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Curated by Andrea Teschke
Opening reception: Saturday, April 29, 6-9 pm

Friedrich Petzel Gallery is pleased to announce the second solo exhibition of five new paintings by Dirk Skreber.

Through his paintings Dirk Skreber challenges seemingly contradictory ideas in contemporary painting such as abstraction and figuration, color and line, beauty and catastrophe. The content is used as a way to explore formal issues.

This exhibition entitled "CRYSTAL MESS" features paintings of houses and abandoned camping trailers, leaving the viewer's imagination to ascertain what lies beneath. The provocative meaning of the show's title further estranges the viewer, who voyeuristically looks at the house through the eerie perspective of an aerial lens, from any emotional response. The calmness of the paintings in conjunction with the title only hints at the dark stories that lie hauntingly beneath their picture perfect scenery. Through the complete dehumanization of the scenes the mystery of the subject is heightened.

In 2000, Dirk Skreber was awarded the inaugural young artist prize by the Nationalgalerie in Berlin, the most prestigious prize for young artists in Germany. He has exhibited in museums throughout the United States and Europe including the Kunstverein Freiburg and the Kunsthaus Zurich.

The exhibition will open on Saturday, April 29, with an opening reception from 6-9 pm, and will be on view through May 27. Friedrich Petzel Gallery is located at 537 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011. For further information, please contact the gallery at info@petzel.com, or call (212) 680-9467.