| Ulrich Kochinkes recent vigorous, large format, almost life-size led pencil drawings concern most varied epochs, genres and media: they cite today’s popular culture as well as historical pictures and Christian iconography. Kochinke combines and confronts worldly themes with religious motifs, the holy with the profane. Emblems from the skater scene, comic-figures, logos and typefaces meet on one spiritual plain. The dynamic, expressive drawing style exploits memories and impressions. In a world of free-floating symbols, the nature of visual encoding is re-questioned: he examines the conflict-laden contradiction of faith and world order – and yet without irony entertains their current relevance. He combines and collates images and symbols and enforces an osmotic penetration of the seemingly contrary motifs. In their transformed context the motifs find themselves newly illuminated, with which the questions of today’s values are posed. |
