This Saturday is the opening of IN MEMORIAM a new solo show by German artist Rafael Gerlach, also known as SatOne at 886 Geary Gallery in San Francisco, California.
SatOne’s art has often been characterised as an interesting mixture of powerful graphic style and improvised abstract elements that open up new dimensions giving form to a unique pictorial universe. We can say that the present exhibition is the product of an exciting creative journey undertaken during the last months that has resulted in a completely new body of work created for the occasion.
About ‘In Memoriam’ – The Essence of Experiences at 886 Geary Gallery:
“In Memoriam“ is based on the notion that only essential things in life last, and came to the artist whilst he was recently renovating his apartment. During the process of separating out belongings, the artist felt himself confronted with existential doubts about the nature of objects and possessions, rediscovering the value of photography as a way of documenting and underlining personal memories. This experience was interesting for SatOne because it gave him the possibility to find out how far he could ‘reduce’ himself in terms of material belongings, freeing himself from anything that didn’t have a practical purpose, and providing him with a subject to explore in his work.
Most experiences find their origin in a mental or physical movement and journey. The person moves, wanders, struggles and rushes from points A to B finding him or herself in a space of rest or final destination. The new paintings can in this way be seen as representations of rooms and motorways as they underline a perfect symbol of spaces or movements in terms of experiences and journeys. They stand for unique situations and experiences everyone collects in life to keep as memories. Therefore it is a lot easier to travel and gather “new memories” with less physical baggage, as at our very last journey it is only these memories that count and remain.
The title of the exhibition is far from being a memory of one person or a single action, it is rather the sum of all experiences. “In Memoriam“ represents small flashbacks, traces of memories that remind the viewer of something he cannot understand at first glance, but that awakes a certain feeling of admiring a vestige from the past. – SatOne
Read the full press release here
The opening reception will be held this Saturday, September 12th, from 7-11 pm at the gallery located on 886 Geary st. San Francisco, CA. The exhibition is free of charge and open to the public for viewing through October 3rd, 2015.
Author: Fran
Founder and editor of Urbanite. Street Art lover who after the finishing her MA thesis on the Mexican and Norwegian muralist movement in the 1920-50s, developed a fascination for street art and graffiti that eventually led to collaborations with different art blogs, including the creation of this one.
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