Group Exhibition | Black Light | Robert Zandvliet

On October 10. 2021 is the opening of the group exhibition Black Light. Positions of the Sublime in Contemporary Art at Kunstmuseum Solothurn, Switzerland with work by Robert Zandvliet.

The sublime overwhelms senses as well as thoughts. It has been discussed in the context of art and assigned as an aesthetic category to both beauty and horror. In the mid-20th century, it was taken up in the context of American post-war painting, for example by Barnett Newman or Mark Rothko.

The sublime is present again in contemporary art - in different ways: There are serious realisations, but also ironic or humorous refractions. Overwhelming landscape motifs exist alongside works that reflect the incomprehensible dynamics of the art market, for example. Light and empty spaces also play an important role. The exhibition title takes this aspect, but also the unimaginable, into account with a paradoxical pair of terms: Black Light.

The presentation brings together important contemporary artists of different generations, including Julian Charrière (CH 1987), John Chiara (USA, 1971), Michel Grillet (CH 1956), Sara Masüger (CH 1978), Karin Sander (1957), Albrecht Schnider (1958), Francisco Sierra (CH 1977), Hiroshi Sugimoto (JP, 1948) and Robert Zandvliet (NL 1979).